Jeanette Roache with donated computers.

Jeanette Roache figures that by the end of this year her Technology Training Foundation of America will have placed about 10,000 computers in schools and nonprofit organizations since she launched the foundation in 1998. Most of the machines are from corporate donors who no longer need them.

Roache offers companies better and safer choices than throwing away old computers. She puts the used and refurbished computers in the hands of schools and nonprofit organizations for use by students and others who would not otherwise have access to them. The aim is to help close the “digital divide” between those with little or no computer skills and those with technological know-how.

“California is ranked 50th among states when it comes to computers in our schools, which is a crime in my opinion when you consider we have Silicon Valley and all that California has to offer,” says Roache, 56. “Our students are not being prepared for the technology world out there. Dollars have been approved for the expansion of school sites and computer labs, but there haven’t been enough technology dollars to put computers in those labs.”

Time Warner Cable-San Diego has been one of the major corporate donors to the foundation through its Tech Tools for Schools program. “The 2004 campaign placed 500 computers in schools throughout San Diego County,” says Judy Walsh, division president of Time Warner Cable-San Diego. “This year the Tech Tools for Schools campaign was expanded into the cable division’s operations in the Palm Springs area and the Technology Training Foundation of America was able to place an additional 250 computers to schools who need them.”

“With limited funding, many schools do not have the equipment they need to take advantage of the enriched learning experience afforded by today’s technology,” says Walsh. “Time Warner Cable’s partnership with TTFA improves the learning experience for many students.”

Since Time Warner Cable’s partnership with Roache’s foundation began in 2000, some 1,800 computers have been placed in area schools.

Sharp HealthCare, another donor to the program, contributed about 500 computers last year and about 100 so far this year. It’s donated about 1,000 machines during the past four years, says Patric Thomas, vice president for enterprise architecture.

The foundation takes Pentium III 500s and higher, but will accept Pentium II 400s because they can be cannibalized. Donated computers are refurbished and equipment that cannot be repaired or upgraded is recycled — all through partnerships the foundation has established.

Roache has a three-member staff that this year is working on a $100,000 budget generated through grants, corporate and individual donations and residuals from the recycling of parts. The foundation works only in California, but has received requests to consider programs out of the state. “There is so much to be done in California that we are not quite there yet to expand,” says Roache.

— Manny Cruz