Louisville Metro Teams with TERRA and Digitunity to Close Digital Divide

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mayor Greg Fischer today announced a new Digital Inclusion partnership with  TERRA and Digitunity to collect, refurbish, and return laptops and tablet computers to people in need.

Through Nashville-based TERRA’s Done with IT program, Louisville-area residents can donate laptops or tablets in good condition to be refurbished. Only undamaged equipment in good working order is eligible, and people are encouraged to include chargers and other peripheral items. TERRA guarantees destruction of data on the devices.

Devices can be donated at the Louisville Waste Reduction Center, 636 Meriweather Ave., open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Devices can also be mailed for donation, limited to 10 pounds limit or less. More information about mailing items to the Done with IT program can be found at https://www.donewithit.org/louisville-store/donate.

“In Louisville, compassion is an action word — it’s means doing what we can to help every resident reach their full human potential. The action can be as simple as giving up an unused device so it can be safely refurbished and given to someone in our community who needs it for school or work, a need made all the more clear during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Fischer said. “I appreciate TERRA and Digitunity’s partnership, as well as the sustained focus on digital inclusion by our city’s Office of Civic Innovation & Technology.”

Businesses or other large organizations can coordinate bulk donations of devices through the Office of Civic Innovation & Technology by calling (502) 574-6309. More information about the city’s CyberCycle program can be found at https://louisvilleky.gov/Electronics.

“The Office of Civic Innovation & Technology makes digital inclusion a top priority. Louisville’s partnership with the Done with IT program allows our residents a convenient way to donate their high quality laptops and desktops to be refurbished and distributed back to the community and help to close the digital divide,” says Grace Simrall, the city’s Chief of Civic Innovation and Technology.

To protect the personal data of the individuals that send in their equipment, each device is shipped directly to an e-Stewards and/or Certified e-waste recycling provider that is required to either electronically wipe or physically destroy all data on hard drives and other storage media before the devices are refurbished.

In Louisville, local Certified R2 e-waste solutions provider the Technology Conservation Group (TCG) is supporting this initiative.

“Even before the pandemic, 34 million Americans lived without access to computers, laptops, tablets, or other internet connected devices,” said Steven Napoli, President & CEO of TERRA. “Americans upgrade and retire enough high-quality devices to close the digital divide.”

Digitunity has pledged to share their expertise to support the City's digital-equity ecosystem to ensure everyone who needs a computer has one.

“Everyone who needs a computer should have one, and technology reuse is such an important part of the solution,” says Scot Henley, Executive Director of Digitunity. “We are proud to support this effort to ensure individuals and families have access to high quality no-cost or low-cost devices that otherwise may not be within reach.”

“We are looking forward to replicating this joint program with Digitunity in more cities across the country,” Napoli added.

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TERRA & Done with IT

TERRA is dedicated to diverting used electronics to the care of Certified Recyclers to maximize reuse and the recycling of natural resources.

www.jointerra.org / www.donewithit.org

Digitunity

The mission of Digitunity is to eliminate the technology gap, through and with a network of stakeholders and solutions, so that everyone can thrive in a digitally connected society.

www.digitunity.org