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Group helps those in need aim high

6/21/2012 - West Side Leader
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By Kathleen Folkerth

This computer lab at the International Institute of Akron was made possible through the Aim High program of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Hilary Church.
Photo courtesy of Society of St. Vincent de Paul
FAIRLAWN — When the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) at St. Hilary Church helps someone with rent or a utility bill, they’re happy. But when the group provides a family in need with a computer, the recipients are ecstatic.

“When you say something about a computer, they jump in the air, especially the children,” said Dave George, a Bath resident who is president of the group.

Through its Aim High program, the chapter has distributed 3,500 refurbished donated computers to 7,660 children in need in Akron in a little more than a decade, according to society members.

Its efforts were recognized recently when it received the 2011 Bishop Anthony M. Pilla Leadership Award from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

George said the organization’s mission is to help the poor. Members go into homes that have been referred to see what it is that is needed to help a family.

“What we found years ago was that in most of the homes we visited in the inner city, these kids didn’t have computers, and we knew they had a tremendous disadvantage because of it,” George said. “They were falling further and further behind.”

At the time, the federal government introduced a program to provide discarded governmental computers to those who needed them. The SVDP applied and started taking computers “from wherever we could,” George said.

O.C. Giltner, who coordinates the program, said the organization accepts donations of computers and funds to purchase computers. Members also have written grant proposals and received funding for the program that way, he added.

“We just accepted 45 used laptops from a school that replaced theirs,” he said. “If we’re out of donated computers, we buy Kindle Fires.”

Society officials said the majority of computers are obtained through RET3 in Cleveland, a nonprofit organization that remanufactures usable electronics in an effort to reduce electronic waste.

Giltner said he’s seen a lot of appreciation from the families that receive the computers.

“There’s an awful lot of grandmothers out there taking care of children, and they can’t believe we are filling such a hole,” he said. “We get a lot of hugs.”

While families with children are most often the recipients of a computer, the SVDP also provides them for some adults, especially those that can use them to apply for work, George said.

“Most of what we do is a Band Aid — we pay somebody’s rent or utilities,” George said. “This we thought was giving some long-term help to people.”

SVDP finds out about families in need through organizations such as the Akron Urban League and the Akron Community Foundation, Giltner said. Once a family is referred, SVDP members make a visit to assess their needs.

In addition to helping to bring technology to individual households, SVDP also has helped 48 nonprofit agencies, including the International Institute of Akron and OPEN M, to create computer labs for students.

The organization gets support from members of St. Hilary Parish, but anyone can support the group through a donation. For more information on how to donate, leave a message at 330-253-5117 and a member will return the call. 

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