{"id":399332661,"date":"2016-10-31T10:49:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T15:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/metro\/2016\/10\/31\/donating-e-waste-ensures-equal-opportunity"},"modified":"2016-11-01T13:05:38","modified_gmt":"2016-11-01T18:05:38","slug":"donating-e-waste-ensures-equal-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/metro\/2016\/10\/31\/donating-e-waste-ensures-equal-opportunity","title":{"rendered":"Donating e-waste ensures equal opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s scary how quickly electronic gadgets and gizmos can pile up. It’s not surprising, however, given that pretty much every time you turn around, there’s a new version of your cell phone, television and computer.<\/p>\n

I used to store old electronics and small appliances in various nooks and crannies in the house, garage and basement. But as the focus shifted more toward recycling and reusing, I began dropping them off at one of the e-waste recycling locations around the city.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, while looking for somewhere closer to home, I discovered Equal Opportunities West (EOW). Located at 851 Cavalier Dr. and 3713 Portage Ave., EOW is a not-for-profit charitable organization which supports community members with disabilities through a range of services and programs, including its e-waste and recycling program.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Jenny\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Jenny Gates\nPeople hard at work dismantling computers at Equal Opportunities West.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

Part of the goal of that program is helping people with disabilities find meaningful work, and EOW is “… actively seeking donations and contributions of e-waste from businesses and the private sector to ensure these busy hands keep moving.”<\/p>\n

When I dropped off several old computer towers, printers, and other electronic bits and pieces, I discovered that workers there break down each item, stripping wires, removing screws, and dismantling circuit boards. The separated materials are then sent to Urbanmine, a local scrap metal facility, which pays EOW for the parts. <\/p>\n

Each person involved in the e-waste program is paid a portion of the money generated as a result of their work, which can make a big difference to those who only receive basic assistance.<\/p>\n

Some of the computers are also refurbished in EOW’s tech department. Then they are either sold or donated to other organizations, used in-house, or even sent to other countries, including Africa.<\/p>\n

All that detailed and valuable work “acts as a physiotherapy tool, helping develop or improve fine motor skills.”<\/p>\n

In fact, according to executive director Susan Morgan, “Individuals have learned some very good skills getting these computers up and running again.” <\/p>\n

From what I saw while I was there, people were very busy and enthusiastic about the work they were doing. Clearly, donating to EOW is a win-win for everyone involved. <\/p>\n

So, next time you upgrade your computer, cell phone, television, and small household appliances, donate the old ones to EOW and help ensure equal opportunity by keeping busy hands moving. <\/p>\n

For more information and a full list of donations they accept, visit EOW’s website at www.equalopportunitieswest.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Jenny Gates is a speaker, writer and book editor, and a community correspondent for St. James. Contact her at words@jennygates.com with questions and ideas.<\/em><\/p>

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":246553291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,21,12],"tags":[],"education-subject":[],"media-literacy-topic":[],"post_topic":[],"content_type":[24],"class_list":["post-399332661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-correspondents","category-news","category-metro"],"acf":{"short_title":"","seo_title":"","deck":"","story_tag":"","byline":"Jenny Gates - Community Correspondent","updates":null},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/metro\/2016\/10\/31\/donating-e-waste-ensures-equal-opportunity","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Donating e-waste ensures equal opportunity","url":"http:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/metro\/2016\/10\/31\/donating-e-waste-ensures-equal-opportunity","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/metro\/2016\/10\/31\/donating-e-waste-ensures-equal-opportunity"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/04\/e-comm-stjames-gates-nov2.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/04\/e-comm-stjames-gates-nov2.jpg"},"articleSection":"Community Correspondents","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"feedloaderapi"}],"creator":["feedloaderapi"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Our Communities","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2016-10-31T15:49:00Z","datePublished":"2016-10-31T15:49:00Z","dateModified":"2016-11-01T18:05:38Z"},"rendered":"