Gardewine brings computers to rural, northern communities

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This article was published 13/07/2020 (1999 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A partnership between Gardewine and Tech Manitoba will improve computer access and training for communities, organizations, and individuals across the province.

Tech Manitoba, an industry association that supports the province’s technology sector, is expanding its refurbished computer giveaway and basic training program to rural schools, immigration services, community centres, and First Nations across Manitoba, according to a news release.

Gardewine, a transportation company located south of Garden Grove, is helping to deliver the computers, free of charge, to Flin Flon, Thompson, Swan River, and Brandon.

“We’ve been involved in those communities, particularly northern Manitoba, for over 60 years, so we have a long history in those communities,” Scott Mushmanski, director of sales at Gardewine, told The Times.

“We feel like we’re part of those communities, so when these opportunities present themselves we like to give back. And I mean, we’re going into all those communities on a daily basis, so it’s really the least we can do.”

Gardewine made four shipments last week, and a handful more are scheduled for the coming months, Mushmanski said.

Recipients receive a free desktop computer, keyboard, monitor, mouse, and computer training videos created by Tech Manitoba. The program, called DigitALL, “aims to increase the overall participation of Canadians in the digital economy and ease the burden of social isolation,” the news release stated.

“Many of us take computers and connectivity for granted, and that isn’t the case for everyone,” Kay Gardiner, Tech Manitoba’s chief executive officer, said in the release.

“The more we move services online, the more people are left behind. Getting a computer and basic training is a first step to bridging that divide.”

The donated desktop computers were refurbished by Computers for Schools, a non-profit organization that employs recent graduates from IT programs to test, clean, and refurbish equipment, according to its website. The organization provides an average of 5,000 refurbished computers annually to clients, while also diverting more than 500,000 pounds of e-waste from landfills a year.

Tech Manitoba also collaborated with the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg to distribute 30 computers to the Ethnocultural Council of Manitoba.