Photography by Beth Cooper

Kramden Institute's Mission

Kramden Institute, Inc., is a 501(c)(3)not-for-profit charitable institution whose mission is to empower hardworking, less-advantaged students by giving them home computers, allowing them to bridge the digital divide and advance their achievement, strengthening their contribution to the community. We do this by collecting, refurbishing, and reusing computers, extending their useful lives.

INSPIRE   ENCOURAGE   EDUCATE   RECYCLE

Our vision is that students nationwide will have access to resources they need to achieve their academic potential. Kramden Institute will serve as the innovator and teacher of a process that recycles surplus equipment to donate to less advantaged students, one community at a time.

Kramden Institute was begun as a father-son project in a basement in Durham, NC, and now has the support of over 3,000 volunteers, generous donors, and thousands of corporate and personal equipment donations.

We have created a process called the Geek-A-Thon® where 200-250 volunteers work in shifts over a weekend to refurbish approximately 200 computers. Our first Geek-A-Thon® was held in August 2005 and, to date, over 6,000 computers have been refurbished through volunteer efforts at our Geek-A-Thons and at our headquarters.

These computers are now in the hands of deserving students, known as Kramden Scholars.  We are proud of the children we serve and of what they are able to achieve by crossing over the digital divide!

As we grow, we hope to bring the Geek-A-Thon® process to other communities around North Carolina and throughout the United States.

We are proud of Kramden's Process and our Impact on our community and our environment.