I am a registered as a CERT Volunteer as well as with the VolunteerWV website. I use my computer skills to help those less fortunate than myself. Often I am given someone’s old system when I install a new system. I repair or piece parts together to make a system that works, completely reformat of the hard drive and install an operating system. Once I have checked it out and am confident it works, I give it to someone in need.
The last computer was given to a lady that was suffering with poor health. The Dr. had told her it was lupus. I taught her how to use the computer. After she got the hang of it, I helped her find relevant newsgroups about her condition. Soon she was writing back and forth with others suffering the same illness. Through the network of people she talked, she discovered she was actually suffering from the effects of toxic mold found in her home. Workers had upgraded the insulation in her home and the work was done in an improper manor. She left her home until the work was done to correct the mold problem and returned to a home that did not make her sick.
The experience of empowering someone to find their own answers, allowing someone to sort out and discover answers to a real danger was very rewarding to myself. The volunteering cost was only a small amount of time and concern for someone less fortunate that myself. This to me is what MLK did in his life empowering of people to better themselves.
- by Clay Harris