For families that can’t afford a computer, it’s Team Children to the rescue
The mission of Team Children, a nonprofit organization based in Audubon, is to open the new technological universe for local families who might otherwise be locked out and left behind.
King of Prussia resident and Team Children president Robert Toporek started the initiative as a way to provide refurbished computers to families and children in the Philadelphia area.
He approached individuals, schools and local businesses with the idea, and began collecting computers to refurbish and distribute.
The organization started giving out computers in 1995 when it was called the Children’s Project, and about five years ago the name was changed to Team Children.
In Team Children’s first few years, when it was still referred to as the Children’s Project, about 2,000 computers were distributed. By the end of 2009, the organization expects to have provided over 8,000 computers to organizations and families that need them. Toporek said Team Children has the ability to donate about 2,000 computers per year, depending on how many are donated to the organization for refurbishment.
Team Children aims to provide the tools and opportunities to young children to be successful in the 21st century — even if their parents weren’t given similar opportunities to pursue their education.
“I realized that no one may be reading to these children, and the idea came to me that if we could provide these children with technological opportunities, we could bypass their parent’s educational limitations,” Toporek said.
Teen and senior citizen volunteers refurbish the Mac and PC desktop and laptop computers. Volunteers as young as 11 helped refurbish computers this summer.
To refurbish a computer, Team Children volunteers clear and re-image the computer’s hard drive, upgrade the computer’s RAM, and take scrap parts from other donated computers for necessary repairs.
“In this day and age, some teens have already been exposed to taking apart computers and putting them back together. Some of them come in and already know how to do it; and the ones who don’t are trained by their peers,” he said.
In addition to providing computers to individual families, since its start, Team Children has donated computers to day care centers, nonprofit organizations and Catholic Schools in the area.
“Our primary concern is to make sure that every family who needs a computer has access to one in their home,” he said.
To find recipients, Toporek researches social service organizations that can put him in contact with families, and pays for public service announcements advertising the service locally.
Individuals who receive the computers pay a minimal administrative fee, write a letter about how a computer could benefit their family or individual educational career, and volunteer with the organization on the day that they pick up the computer.
“I don’t believe in having this be a handout, I believe it’s a hand-up,” he said. This year, Team Children aims to raise $1 million to expand operations and have a paid staff. To date, Toporek has provided funding from his personal income to keep the project going. Toporek is a certified Rolf practitioner, which is a form of massage therapy that reorganizes the connective tissues that permeate throughout the body.
He is also the author of “The New Book of Baby and Child Massage.” In the future, he hopes to expand the influence of Team Children in preschool education and teach people how to accelerate the literacy skills of three- to four-year-olds.
“I believe it takes a team to raise all of our children. We all need to be on the same team playing the same game,” he said.
Toporek hopes that by distributing computers he can help children compete academically.
“The United States is beginning to lag behind in its academic standards for children. If someone doesn’t get behind the ball, we will lose economic competitiveness in the world,” he said.
In the future, Toporek hopes to see a Team Children center in every county nationwide.
“If we can reduce the size of landfills and expand children’s minds at the same time, that would be a good thing for the planet,” he said.
For more information, call 610-666-1795 or visit www.teamchildren.com.
King of Prussia resident and Team Children president Robert Toporek started the initiative as a way to provide refurbished computers to families and children in the Philadelphia area.
He approached individuals, schools and local businesses with the idea, and began collecting computers to refurbish and distribute.
The organization started giving out computers in 1995 when it was called the Children’s Project, and about five years ago the name was changed to Team Children.
In Team Children’s first few years, when it was still referred to as the Children’s Project, about 2,000 computers were distributed. By the end of 2009, the organization expects to have provided over 8,000 computers to organizations and families that need them. Toporek said Team Children has the ability to donate about 2,000 computers per year, depending on how many are donated to the organization for refurbishment.
Team Children aims to provide the tools and opportunities to young children to be successful in the 21st century — even if their parents weren’t given similar opportunities to pursue their education.
“I realized that no one may be reading to these children, and the idea came to me that if we could provide these children with technological opportunities, we could bypass their parent’s educational limitations,” Toporek said.
Teen and senior citizen volunteers refurbish the Mac and PC desktop and laptop computers. Volunteers as young as 11 helped refurbish computers this summer.
To refurbish a computer, Team Children volunteers clear and re-image the computer’s hard drive, upgrade the computer’s RAM, and take scrap parts from other donated computers for necessary repairs.
“In this day and age, some teens have already been exposed to taking apart computers and putting them back together. Some of them come in and already know how to do it; and the ones who don’t are trained by their peers,” he said.
In addition to providing computers to individual families, since its start, Team Children has donated computers to day care centers, nonprofit organizations and Catholic Schools in the area.
“Our primary concern is to make sure that every family who needs a computer has access to one in their home,” he said.
To find recipients, Toporek researches social service organizations that can put him in contact with families, and pays for public service announcements advertising the service locally.
Individuals who receive the computers pay a minimal administrative fee, write a letter about how a computer could benefit their family or individual educational career, and volunteer with the organization on the day that they pick up the computer.
“I don’t believe in having this be a handout, I believe it’s a hand-up,” he said. This year, Team Children aims to raise $1 million to expand operations and have a paid staff. To date, Toporek has provided funding from his personal income to keep the project going. Toporek is a certified Rolf practitioner, which is a form of massage therapy that reorganizes the connective tissues that permeate throughout the body.
He is also the author of “The New Book of Baby and Child Massage.” In the future, he hopes to expand the influence of Team Children in preschool education and teach people how to accelerate the literacy skills of three- to four-year-olds.
“I believe it takes a team to raise all of our children. We all need to be on the same team playing the same game,” he said.
Toporek hopes that by distributing computers he can help children compete academically.
“The United States is beginning to lag behind in its academic standards for children. If someone doesn’t get behind the ball, we will lose economic competitiveness in the world,” he said.
In the future, Toporek hopes to see a Team Children center in every county nationwide.
“If we can reduce the size of landfills and expand children’s minds at the same time, that would be a good thing for the planet,” he said.
For more information, call 610-666-1795 or visit www.teamchildren.com.
