Tech for Troops calls itself the fastest growing nonprofit organization for veterans and their families in the U.S. Now, it’s giving back to DFW veterans.

This summer, the non-partisan 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization teamed up with Toyota Motor North America to provide VA North Texas Health Care System veterans with refurbished laptops to help them rejoin the workforce. Toyota, which is headquartered in Plano, then brought together more than a dozen IT volunteers from across the country to host a training event.

How Tech for Troops gives back

Founded in 2013 by a mother and her son, Tech for Troops has donated to numerous organizations across the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the nonprofit was able to provide refurbished laptops to over 70 VA North Texas Health Care System Veterans.

The Tech for Troops Project exists to solve a problem and help others. Post 9/11 veterans have a higher rate of homelessness, poverty, and unemployment than any group of veterans in the last century, according to the company website. Working computers can provide a new life to struggling veterans rather than the used laptops just being discarded.

Through the organization’s Technology Reuse & Computer Recycling program, people can “refurbish and donate used technology to veterans in need” and recycle old and unusable computers.

In addition to the company’s recycling program, they also offer an IT Training program that provides information technology training for veterans, giving them a greater opportunity at reentry into the workforce.

Going beyond the donations, Tech for Troops also provides resources to veterans interested in a computer career. As stated on their website, they offer “free training, internships, and introductions to potential employers.”

DFW veteran support

VA North Texas receives donations of more than $5.2 million annually, which all go toward supporting more than 182,000 enrolled veterans.

They receive donations from a variety of sources, including corporations willing to recycle old computers rather than send them to the landfill, other organizations around the community, as well as individuals who are glad to get rid of old computer equipment around the house.

Technology that can be donated includes:

Laptops and power adapters
Desktop/tower computers
File servers and networking equipment
Flat panel monitors
Keyboards, mice, power cords
iPads and table computers
Cell phones

According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs post, U.S. Army Veteran Hazel Jackson worked with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), to make her way back into the workforce.

“I can’t express how much this means to me and how much it will help rebuild my life,” Jackson said.