Eric Vreeland of the Kramden Institute, standing at right, leads an information session with Western Vance High School students as they receive their free computers to take home.
Eric Vreeland and Cari DelMariani, both of Kramden, came to Western Vance on May 20 and conducted four different sessions with students and their parents on how to hook up the computers and how to use them once they got them home.
Principal Clarence Hicks of Western Vance and his staff members have been working with the Kramden Institute for about two months on the computer donations.
The Kramden Institute is a non-profit organization that seeks donations of old and used computers, mostly from businesses, and then its computer personnel completely refurbish the computers and donate them to students in schools throughout North Carolina.
Vreeland said Western Vance, as part of Vance County Schools, marks the 78th school district in the state Kramden personnel have visited this school year to donate computers.
Vreeland and DelMariani worked closely with the approximately 60 students in the school during the four sessions to show them exactly how to connect all the cables to properly set up their computer at home. Each student received a computer monitor, tower or CPU, keyboard and mouse, along with the needed cables. They then led a step-by-step information session on how to use the Lenox software system provided with the computer.
Vreeland told the students and their parents that Kramden Institute also will provide free support and repair work, if needed, for the computers.
Parents were on hand to sign necessary paperwork and to transport the computers home for their students.
“The students have really gotten excited about this,” Hicks said. “We did a survey when we first looked into the donations and found that most of our students do not have computers at home. We talked with the Kramden folks and they said they could provide enough computers for all of our students. It was an opportunity we couldn’t turn down.”