Laptop Initiative
In the Service Beakers Laptop Initiative, our goal is to crowdfund laptops to provide an effectively infinite number of educational resources to students. We are partnering with both St. Michael the Archangel’s Honduras Sister Parish Mission and the Kramden Institute of Durham to bring devices to students at home and abroad. We appreciate any support on this endeavor! You can donate laptops, monetary funds, or even your time as a volunteer–contact us if you would like to help.
The Sister Parish
Many of our staff and volunteers attended St. Michael the Archangel School, whose parish supports an impoverished sister parish in Honduras. These poor but faithful families often make under 80 USD per year.
St. Michael’s missionary work has done a fantastic job providing for the needs of this community, including education, health, agriculture (many are subsistence farmers) and spiritual needs.
At Service Beakers, we aim to expand the educational opportunity of this community by providing unprecedented access to technology. As high school students, the past year has demonstrated the versatility and value of computers, and by providing them to the students of this Honduran school, we can greatly expand their academic experience and help introduce them to the world of technology that we all are familiar with today.
The Kramden Institute
Service Beakers was able to surpass its initial goal of 150 devices for the Honduras ministry. As such, we have partnered with the Kramden Institute, which is an influential North Carolinian nonprofit that grants devices to underprivileged students across the state.
Kramden has given 46,000 refurbished computers to deserving families across North Carolina and beyond. In 2014, it initiated educational programs in technology training, and 8,000 people have completed an adult computer classes, utilized its STEM after-school programs, or enrolled in a technology workshop or camp.
One of Kramden’s programs our devices will support is Train the Trainer, which brings a digital literacy curriculums to communities across NC. Everyone who completes the course receives a laptop and certificate.
The Laptop Initiative Team
2023-2024 Student Leaders
Everett Brostedt
Varun Kute
Alumni Board
Isaac Lund
Joey Milazzo
Leo Ouyang
Robbie Flanagan
Check our progress!
Thank you all so much for your help in raising an audited value of over $130,000 worth of donations and almost 1,000 total devices for under-resourced students. Since March 2022, we have successfully delivered over 700 devices to Honduras and Kramden, and we are continuing to distribute the remaining devices.
Thank you to all the corporate and religious sponsors who assisted in the Laptop Initiative!
