You are cordially invited to a special celebration hosted by RVA757 Connects and ChamberRVA to mark a milestone for our I-64 Innovation Corridor megaregion – the opening of the new recycling and mission market for PCs for People.
The celebration will take place at the RVA757 Connects offices in Richmond’s Fan District on Wednesday April 8 at 5 p.m.
Background on RVA757 Connects and PCs for People
- RVA757 Connects is a business-led, research-based coalition of senior leaders across Metro Richmond and Hampton Roads. With a 75-member Board of Directors, our 501(c)(3) nonprofit is advancing economic prosperity for everyone in the Richmond area (RVA) and Hampton Roads (757) region.
- PCs for People gathers old computers from employers and organizations. They completely refurbish the devices and give desktops away for free and make laptops available for about $100 for underserved households who qualify. PCs for People also runs a free 1-800 help desk to help the first-time computer owners with any problems and conducts free in-person workshops to teach computer skills. The household income of computers’ owners goes up 15% given their new digital access to services, benefits, job opportunities, etc.
How We Attracted PCs for People
RVA757 Connects, ChamberRVA, and other chambers teamed up to recruit PCs for People to the Metro Richmond-Hampton Roads megaregion. We met PCs for People, the nation’s largest computer refurbisher, on a ChamberRVA intercity visit. We were so impressed with their service, we invited them to expand in our region.
PCs for People was interested in expanding into Dallas or Phoenix as their next expansion market. We won the pitch and attracted them to our megaregion first, sharing how together, Richmond and Hampton Roads are 3 million people, about the size of PCs for People’s other markets. We helped PCs for People raise $800K through family foundations and Meta to fund the purchase of a building and truck. PCs for People has now established its Metro Richmond-Hampton Roads base camp in Hampton. The computer pickup truck will circulate around and across our megaregion.
Why You Should Attend:
After working to bring PCs for People to the megaregion to help close the digital divide while providing responsible electronics recycling, we’re excited to celebrate the opening of this new center in Hampton, Virginia that will serve our entire megaregion.
As one of the region’s leaders, we wanted you to be part of this exciting groundbreaking moment. Virginia has become one of the top states for extending broadband access to underserved communities and neighborhoods. Everyone agrees, however, that broadband access is not enough to close the digital divide. Some households still need computers (40% of the people living in poverty don’t have computers) and many need digital skills training.
The national leaders of PCs for People will officially open its new (well, refurbished) facility in Hampton. They will then come to Richmond on April 8 to thank everyone at a reception for bringing them to Virginia. We hope you will attend and become part of this success story!
We hope you can join us. Please see details below and RSVP by April 6 to Adair Collins at: Adair.Collins@RVA757Connects.com