We are not in the computer business.
We are in the neighbor business.

El Paso is full of computers nobody is using. They are in closets, in garages, in the back of offices that upgraded three years ago, in the room of a kid who left for college. Most of them work. Most of the ones that don’t are one part away from working.

At the same time there are folks here doing everything on a phone — job applications, homework, benefits paperwork, telehealth appointments. Not because a computer would not help, but because a computer costs money they have already spoken for, on something that cannot wait.

Both of those things are true at once, in the same city, on the same street sometimes. We don’t think that is an accident. We think it is an assignment.

Computers of Compassion moves the first pile toward the second.

That verse is on our logo because it is the whole idea, not decoration. Most of us already own the second shirt. Refurbishing computer donations to give to those in need — prioritizing students and seniors — is simply what that verse looks like when the shirt happens to be a laptop.

We are a Christian charity and we are not shy about it. We do this because we were told to, plainly and more than once, and because the person who asked it of us did a great deal more than that for us first. Every machine that goes out of here is the Lord’s provision moving through a couple of ordinary folks with screwdrivers. When something good happens here, it is not us being clever. Glory to God.

And to be clear about what that means in practice: we help whoever needs helping. We have never asked a family what they believe and we never will. The only questions we ask are what the machine is for and what is going on, because that is how we know what to build.

We take whatever is offered. That is a deliberate policy, not an oversight. The moment a charity publishes a restrictions list — no CRTs, nothing older than seven years, must power on — people start pre-judging their own donations and throwing away things we could have used. So we removed the list. Any brand, any operating system, any age, working or not.

What can be restored gets restored: cleaned, parts swapped, memory and storage upgraded where we have the spares, a current operating system installed, and tested properly before it goes anywhere. Nothing leaves here that we would not be happy to hand our own family. What cannot be restored gets parted out for the machines that can, and whatever is left is recycled responsibly rather than landfilled.

Recipients are nominated — by a teacher, a neighbor, a relative, a case worker, or by themselves. We ask what the machine is for and what is going on, because that is how we decide what to build. We do not ask for proof of income, we do not charge an application fee, and nothing has to be paid back.

There is usually a list of folks waiting. Machines go out as they come off the bench, so a week with a generous donation moves several families at once and a quiet week moves none. That is the honest rhythm of it.

For now this is El Paso and the surrounding areas only — we don’t yet have the infrastructure to support shipping. If you are just outside that, ask anyway.