The purpose of this project is to provide under-privileged kiddos with exposure to sciences and the environment and also access to technology.

Phase I. BOOTUP was founded in 2005. I had been searching a way to tie in outreach and community work with engineering and specific technical skills. So, I threw some ideas around with some friends and came up with BOOTUP - a computer education group that would be sustained on donations from private/corporate sources. These donations would be computers and related equipment and would be used in computer-building workshops. When the students completed the program, they would get to keep the computers they worked on.

Accomplishments.

• Kiddos did not have computers at home - we can give them a tool and teach them something! :-)
• Four-week build workshop
• 4-7 consistent volunteers per quarter
• Refurbished/donated over 30 computers
• Partnered with CYFCLA (Community Youth Family Collaborative - Los Angeles)
• Partnered also with the UCLA Center for Community Learing
• Went for at least 3-4 consecutive quarters to Dorsey High School Los Angeles
• Coordinated donations from Boeing, Prossum Tech, and miscellaneous private donors (Thank you so much!!)
• Registered our group as a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher through Techsoup.org. This allows us to be listed as a "refurbishing group" in various websites when people inquiry about reuse, recycle, and refurbishing old equipment.
• Being an MAR also allowed us to order licenses and software supported through the program - this helped us load up the computers with relevant programs for the kiddos

Phase II. BOOTUP as a computer lab builder. Just one quarter, one day in June 2007. When time became a little harder to squeeze (out of others and myself), I organized the group as a type of "geek team." We would prepare the computers at UCLA to bring to schools that needed it, and install/setup and donate a computer lab. Thanks Laura Balzano with co-coordination!

Accomplishments.

• View Park Prep school is also located in South Los Angeles - identified because they have no computer lab on-campus, forcing kiddos to walk down dangerous streets/intersections to use computers at the local community center (that sucks)
• Set up a computer lab of 7-10 units, installed Windows XP and Office
• Computer lab was for a college center, where students would be able to fill out apps and look up college info
• 9 volunteers!  :)
• This was a good experience but I was depressed because the school didn't invite us to the opening of the center nor did they reimburse us for supplies like they said they would - I wouldn't normally have an issue about money, I just want honesty. Oh well - the main goal was still accomplished.