 Illinois Department of Central Management Services Director Malcolm Weems and
Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Erica Borggren highlighted the
benefits of the program to veterans in Illinois."We are proud to be the first
state to offer a joint computer donation program to help serve those who made
the most difficult sacrifices to serve our country," Weems said. "These
computers will help organizations provide critical job-training assistance to
our returning veterans. CMS will continue to identify surplus property that can
benefit veterans and communities across Illinois."
Illinois' pilot computer donation program kicks off a campaign to create
awareness of a law signed by President Obama in 2010 supporting veterans'
organizations, and to help transfer the federal government's surplus computer
equipment to eligible veterans' organizations. The computers donated this week,
on display at the CMS Surplus Warehouse, are valued at approximately $150,000.
"Our chance to pilot this re-purposing of federal surplus computers is yet
another way that Illinois is at the forefront when it comes to serving those who
have served," Borggren said. "Illinois is home to hundreds of veterans'
organizations helping veterans on everything from coping with PTSD to training
for employment -- and these computers will help them do that work even better."
The Illinois State Agency for Surplus Property redistributes, recycles or
disposes of surplus state property and oversees the distribution the U.S.
General Services Administration's surplus property. The GSA and the National
Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property have made desktop computers
and laptops owned by federal agencies available exclusively for use by veterans'
organizations through Illinois' federal surplus program.
"These laptops are going to some of the most critical and underserved
organizations in our country today," said Scott Pepperman, executive director of
the National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property. "Organizations
that are assisting our returning veterans now have one more opportunity to help
with their transition back into the workforce. Our veterans deserve nothing less
than our full and continued support by working to assist those who gave so
much."
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Donated surplus computers are refurbished by a GSA-approved vendor
to include hard-drive cleanup, data wipes and minor repairs,
ensuring the equipment is ready for immediate assignment and use.
Ohio-based company Redemtech equipped each donated computer with
Windows 7 Professional software, hardware setup instructions, free
technical support, online support and software updates through
Microsoft, and a 90-day warranty. To ensure environmentally safe
retirement of the donated computers, Redemtech is also providing
free asset recovery and recycling of the computers.
In fiscal 2012, CMS received and allocated more than $36.4
million in surplus federal agency equipment, including office
furniture, vehicles, machine-shop tools and other materials to
Illinois police and fire departments, schools, townships, libraries,
not-for-profit organizations, and museums. CMS and the Illinois
State Agency for Surplus Property currently have more than 1,000
organizations participating in the surplus program.
Earlier this year, CMS donated millions of dollars' worth of
surplus boots, coats, mittens and other winter gear to organizations
statewide that provide critical services to people in need. To
receive federal surplus donations in Illinois, veterans' homes,
colleges, work training programs and other humanitarian
organizations must meet GSA's eligibility criteria. More information
on the program is available at
http://cms.illinois.gov/.
The National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property
and its 50 states and U.S. territories represent more than 67,000
organizations across the nation. Organizations eligible to receive
federal surplus property include law enforcement, fire departments
of state and local governments, public and private schools,
nonprofit organizations serving veterans, seniors and the homeless,
and others. Learn more about NASASP at
http://www.nasasp.org/ or email
Scott Pepperman at
executivedirector@nasasp.org.
[Text from
Illinois
Department of Central Management Services
file received from the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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