Bridging the digital divide: Sentara donates $1.2 million worth of computers to Tidewater Community College

Hundreds of handwritten notes from grateful students line the walls of the Tidewater Community College (TCC) computer club in Virginia Beach, Va.

Since 2009, the TCC Computers for Student Success (CSS) program has refurbished and gifted nearly 17,000 free computers to students who are unable to afford one.

“Sentara was a stabilizing factor that allowed us to get the program up to the level that it is and to maintain it,” said Gary Noah, professor of information technology. “We wouldn’t be able to run this program without Sentara.”

In the last 13 years, Sentara Health has donated $1.2 million worth of computers to CSS. This includes roughly 10,000 desktops, laptops, and monitors that were no longer needed.

Originally CSS was only able to assist students on TCC’s Virginia Beach campus. However, when Sentara stepped in, they expanded services to TCC’s Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk campuses.

Covering the cost of a computer

Growing up, Sandy Thomas loved to draw and play with building toys like Legos and Lincoln Logs.

Now a freshman at TCC, Thomas is combining her love of art and building by taking a computer-aided design (CAD) course which uses computer software to design 2D and 3D models of objects and buildings.

“They told me that I needed a desktop to run the CAD software. I didn’t have a desktop. I only had a MacBook,” said Thomas, an 18-year-old Indian River High School graduate. “I'm a freshman so all of these college expenses are like really high and I just didn't think that I could get a desktop.”

Luckily Thomas heard about CSS and was able to acquire the equipment for free after completing an application.

Hong Thomas and her daughter, Sandy Thomas, are all smiles as they pick up Sandy’s desktop.

“We just buy a laptop for her. It’s so expensive, so to have this helps,” said Hong Thomas, Sandy’s mother, who moved to the United States from Vietnam in 2005. “Now I try to get her to drive and get a driver’s license, then I have to buy her a car. You see, it never ends.”

Hong is also enrolled in TCC and plans to graduate in May 2025 with an associate’s in business administration.

After she graduates in December 2027, Thomas hopes to transfer to Norfolk State University and obtain her license in architectural drafting.

Helping students in more ways than one

A unique aspect of CSS is that TCC students are the ones refurbishing the computers for their fellow classmates.

These students gain valuable hands-on experience fixing and extending the lives of computers and can network with students who have similar interests in computers, cybersecurity, and gaming.

“I’ve been working here for two years and there’s always something new to be learned,” said Antonio Brown, a student and president of the computer club. “It’s definitely humbling because these computers change a lot of lives.” 

Brown plans to graduate in spring 2025 with his degree in computer science and hopes to “hit it rich” by creating a startup or mobile app.

“They're learning hard skills that they can carry straight to an employer,” said Fred Fowler, director of information technology at Sentara. “Just the training part alone is valuable and when they're done, they have a device that goes to help another student get their degree.”

Professor Noah said that former students will email him five or six years later and say, “This is the best job I ever had. I was learning with a great group of people and I was doing something to help people.”

Safe, Secure, and Sustainable

Sentara partners with Securis, a secure data destruction and electronics recycling company, to safely dispose of around 800 pieces of outdated equipment each month, 10% of which goes to TCC.

“It’s a marriage of two strengths,” said Allan Jenik, chief executive officer of Securis. “You're able to get students access to nice equipment, but you're also making sure Sentara is not putting their customers’ information at risk.”

To ensure the destruction of any sensitive information, Securis uses a National Security Agency (NSA) approved disintegrator to turn solid-state hard drives into grains of sand, rendering all data completely illegible.

Not only do Sentara’s outdated devices get a second life; they’re also staying out of landfills.

Back in 2019, the world produced 54 million metric tons of e-waste. By 2030, this number is expected to grow by 30% to 74.7 million metric tons.

One reason Sentara partners with Securis is because they are R2 certified, which ensures best practices for refurbishing, de-manufacturing, recycling, and reusing electronics.

Last year Sentara recycled nearly 45.4 metric tons of e-waste. In total, Securis recycled 2,721.6 metric tons.

Antonio Brown (left) and Gary Noah show off the mountain of monitor stands in the scrap room of the computer club.

“It's one of those rare things that's good for everybody,” said Fowler. “It’s good for Sentara because we have something to do with these devices, and it’s good for TCC because now they have not just a device for someone who needs it but a valuable experience for the kids in the computer club.”

Learn more about TCC’s Computer for Student Success program here.