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Nina Kleinberg (standing), a member of Northampton Neighbors, participates in a project that helped repurpose several retired laptops from the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office for seniors. -
Hampshire County Sheriff Patrick J. Cahillane (center) participates in a project that helped repurpose several retired laptops from the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office for seniors.
Not too long ago, I received a card from Diane Porcella, executive director of Northampton Neighbors, an organization founded to provide services and support for older adults in our community. For several weeks, IT specialists at the Hampshire Sheriff’s Office (HSO) had been working with Nina Kleinberg, a member of Northampton Neighbors, to repurpose several of our retired laptops so they could be used by seniors who wanted to improve their computer skills.
“Thank you, Sheriff Cahillane and your colleagues at the Hampshire Sheriff’s Office for the bounty of laptops,” Diane wrote. “We will pay your generosity forward and please think of us when you need a hand. Our neighbors are aging and engaging!”
As a big fan of the idea of “paying it forward,” I was so pleased to join Nina and several residents of the Forsander Apartments in Florence on July 15 as she and other Northampton Neighbors volunteers found new homes for the 13 laptops my office has donated so far.
Nina is part of a Northampton Neighbors team that breathes new life into the donated laptops, inserting fast solid-state drives, adding more memory, and installing a fresh copy of the operating system, either Windows or MacOS.
“We set them up for members of our community who request help in bridging the digital divide,” Nina said. “And there is an added benefit: we keep these laptops out of the landfill. It’s a win-win for the environment as well as for our neighbors.”
I encourage organizations with the ability to donate their retired laptops to reach out to Northampton Neighbors to help. And if you live outside Northampton, inquire at your local senior center to see if there is a need in your community for this type of program.
Having friends in the community, whether it’s our local senior centers and councils on aging, our colleges and universities, the employers who provide job opportunities to the men in our care, and our many volunteers and elected officials, is essential for our success. I couldn’t be happier that we have added Northampton Neighbors to our ever growing list of community friends and partners.
Thank you, Diane, Nina, and all the Northampton Neighbors volunteers for reminding us that paying forward acts of kindness and generosity is yet another way of making a positive difference in the world.
Patrick J. Cahillane is sheriff of Hampshire County.