On a class visit to Lazarus House, seventh graders Gauri Kumar and Joeyanna Hodnett developed a brilliant idea. A way to reuse technology to help the Guests of Lazarus House.

Every year, the Pike School seventh-grade class does a food drive. This year, after the food drive the seventh-grade class took a tour of Lazarus House. “It was pretty amazing to visit Lazarus house,” Kumar said. The seventh-grade class had never gone to visit Lazarus House before this trip. “We were walking through the study area and there were kind of old computers there,” said Kumar.

At Pike School, iPads become mandatory in the sixth grade. “I thought about how much technology has helped with learning, and I wanted to get technology to help other people learn too,” Kumar said.

Kumar thought of her sister’s unused iPad at home. “We thought we could do something [with the iPad] and use it,” Hodnett said. From this thought, Hodnett and Kumar developed the idea of Tech for Hope. Taking unused technology, iPads, laptops, computers, etc. and donating them to Lazarus House.

Tech for Hope began taking donations at Pike School. The tech donors follow links given by Tech for Hope and follow instructions to get their technology as if it were brand new, without any customizations. Then Hodnett and Kumar deliver the donated technology to Lazarus House for their Guests.

“Technology opens so many doors for people. You can do a job application and many other things,” Hodnett said. “Technology has opened doors for us. We want to give others the access to open those doors as well,” said Kumar.

Tech for Hope began receiving donations right before the coronavirus pandemic. Due to restrictions, Kumar and Hodnett have been unable to deliver their technology donations to Lazarus House. “We have a few donations but haven’t been able to give them to Lazarus House yet, due to COVID-19,” Hodnett said.

“We would really like to get more donations; so many people need them,” said Hodnett. “The more [donations] we get, the more we can give.” Hodnett and Kumar plan on continuing Tech for Hope in the future. “We don’t want to stop one day. We want it to keep going as long as we can,” said Hodnett.

If you would like more information or would like to donate to Tech for Hope, contact Tech for Hope Faculty Advisor Julie Ogden at jogden@pikeschool.org or Gauri Kumar at kumar.gauri098@gmail.com