By Kelsey Osterman
Editorial Intern

St. Patrick’s Day will be “green” for a new reason this year. Organizers of a new technology training and recycling program are launching an effort to gather and refurbish one thousand computers to help homeless individuals and low-income families.

On March 17, the first annual eCycle D.C. event will be collecting used computers and other technology from local individuals, companies and agencies. Homeless men and women,  employed by WildTech-CCNV, a branch of the Wilderness Technology Alliance, will learn marketable electronic skills by participating in refurbishing the donated equipment. Reconditioned computers will then be donated to low-income families. Lou August, event coordinator and WildTech president, described the event as beneficial for everyone involved.

“If only the public knew about this, they would never throw away their old computer equipment again,” said August.

Though not all of the equipment will be salvageable, August said about 700-800 of the donated computers will be given back to low-income families in the community. Money will also be collected at the event to help cover the cost of processing older and hazardous items. And though the recycling helps the city, the job skills and income the program can provide to people who are homeless are more important to August.

“They need the type of empowerment that can only come from employment,” he said. “With it being their own enterprise, they will also ‘own’ the outcomes.”

The project is one of a growing number of  creative initiatives across the country geared toward helping poor and minority people learn the skills they need to find work in an economy increasingly dominated by technology.

The St. Patrick’s Day collection will be held from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) shelter, which is located at 425 Second St, NW. Donations will be accepted  in the rear parking lot off E Street. Nonprofit donation receipts will be provided. Organizers are particularly eager to collect personal computers, laptops, monitors and empty toner and ink cartridges.

ECycle D.C. is just one of three community service events scheduled to take place during the day, in partnership with the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC). The conference, organized by the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), kicks off with a Day of Service each year, which usually consists of free consulting for nonprofits in the area. But the tenth  Day of Service is different, according to Sarah Janczak Corona, NTEN community manager.

“This year being in D.C….we decided to deviate from that a little bit and do a more active service project within the community,” said Corona.

Volunteers from NTC will also be installing a wireless Internet network in the CCNV, which will provide access to the employment opportunities online for the homeless staying there. NTC attendees will also serve food at D.C. Central Kitchen. Numerous community partners are helping to support the event, including the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the Cisco Corporation, which is donating the wireless network.

“The Digital Divide is greater and runs deeper in the homeless community than any other in America,” August said. “So how will wireless Internet empower the homeless? By giving them hope—even just a chance—to get a job.”

NTEN is a membership organization that seeks to help nonprofits best utilize technology to achieve their goals. NTC, an annual event that began in 2000, is designed to educate and assist those nonprofits through various seminars and learning opportunities. Though previous conferences have been held in cities such as Atlanta and San Francisco, this year’s NTC is the largest yet, with over 1,900 participants. About 100 of the attendees will be serving at the three locations.

Regardless of the number of donations collected on St. Patrick’s Day,  eCycle will be an annual event,  according to August.

“We will have to re-think things, but we expect to try again next year,” he said. “It would not be completely surprising if it took a few years to gain momentum, but we sure hope it takes off from the start.”