Lorain County Computer User Group, Ohio
(Region 3)
Participates in Community Service Projects
by Judy Taylour
One Laptop One Child project
LCCUG (www.lccug.com) participated in the One Laptop Per Child project in 2007.
As a participant they received one of the computers (which comes with a year’s
worth of Wireless HotSpot access from T-Mobile) and they demonstrated it to
their members and checked it out to see what makes it tick. It has Linux as its
operating system, is preloaded with basic software, wireless internet access and
a long battery life. They then plan to raffle it off to a lucky person. One
Laptop Per Child, is a nonprofit group founded in 2005 by academics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. Americans are invited to join
a global marathon – the uphill effort to take 21st-century computing to poor
children around the world. For a donation of $399, one of these laptops is sent
to empower a child in a developing nation and one can be kept by the donor. $200
of the donation is tax-deductible (the $399 donation minus the fair market value
of the XO laptop you will be receiving). This offer has been expanded beyond the
two weeks and you can check out this website to see if it is still being offered
in case you want to participate. http://laptop.org/
Second Harvest Donations
In previous years LCCUG asked people to bring in non-perishable food items to be
donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank. For each item, people were given a
ticket to their December Chinese raffle/auction. They also gave all the ticket
proceeds to Second Harvest. This year, members were asked to consider not
bringing in food, but buying more tickets or donating money outright. Second
Harvest can buy more for a dollar than we can - $4 worth of groceries for every
$1. These groceries go to community food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters
and provide families in need with wholesome food. The money also ensures that
food won’t go to waste because Second Harvest can buy in quantity the food that
is most needed.
Operation DVD
They also participated in Operation DVD which collects and sends used/new DVD’s
to our troops overseas.
On the lighter side, members will have a chance to fulfill their dreams of being
in the movies. LCCUG plans to film a skit advertising the club and upload it to
You Tube. Characters needed include a zombie, victim, (male or female), an
instructor, and a computer geek. It will be filmed on location at St. Joseph’s
Community Center and include the LCCC Lab and Gould Auditorium. This will be a
fun time and a chance to see how movies are made. Members were asked to bring
their family or friends; they need warm bodies for the extras in the auditorium
scene. Who knows, they could become members.