Q: I just bought a fancy new iMac, but my old PC from ’96 still works, and I can’t bear to throw it out. Where can I donate?
A: Plenty of organizations can put your old computer to good use. For 2000 and younger models in good to mint condition, try Art Start (800-224-0990; art-start.org), which offers art-education programs to low-income and homeless youths. “Many of the kids we work with go to school and need more access to technology,” says development director Erin O’Toole. For laptops and desktops, printers, scanners, and CD-rom drives in good shape, call the Brotherhood/Sister Sol (212-283-7044; brotherhood-sistersol.org), whose after-school technology center in Harlem serves low-income black and Latino teenagers. “We don’t have a cutoff year,” says co-director Jason Warwin, “and we’re not against picking up from your home.” If you’re thinking globally, Non-Profit Computing (212-759-2368) distributes computers to needy organizations from Brooklyn to Madagascar. “We’re stocking up the learning centers of around 40 refugee camps in Africa right now,” says director John L. German. Just remember: The truly charitable don’t pocket the expensive parts of their computers before donating them.