Celebrating Canada 150: Siemens donates 300 computers to schools at home and abroad
-- Computers refurbished by more than 60 volunteers at Oakville head office
-- World Vision to distribute computers to schools in Costa Rica and
Nicaragua
OAKVILLE, ON, June 2, 2017 /CNW/ - In honour of Canada's 150th anniversary, Siemens Canada is helping students across the country and in developing nations gain greater access to technology by donating 150 laptops for distribution to five Canadian schools, as well as 150 laptops to educational initiatives in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The decommissioned corporate computers will be refurbished by more than 60 volunteers at a weekend workshop led by Corporations For Community Connections (CFCC), a registered Canadian charity founded by Siemens employees.
Canadian schools receiving the donation of 150 laptops via CFCC are Garth Webb Secondary School (ON), Mark R. Isfeld Secondary (BC), Queen Elizabeth Regional High School (NL), Leamington District Secondary School (ON) and Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre (MB). They will each receive 30 Dell computers preloaded with design software donated by Siemens Canada.
"Partnering with companies like Siemens has given new life to valuable hardware, and previously unimaginable opportunities to thousands of people in need. CFCC's socially and environmentally responsible program promotes universal access to technology," said CCFC Co-founder Philip Schaus.
World Vision Canada will also facilitate distribution of 150 computers to the Central American nations of Costa Rica and Nicaragua where they will be used to support education programs such as computer labs, after school training programs and tutoring.
"When children have access to laptops, learning software and teachers trained to use technology in the classroom, they significantly improve their literacy, numeracy and critical thinking skills. Just being exposed to a laptop, without any intentional literacy teaching, can improve a child's literacy level by 10%," Nancy Del Col, Education Technical Specialist, World Vision Canada.
Over the last six years, Siemens has partnered with CFCC to donate and refurbish 2,056 computers and supported over 50 charitable organizations and schools, serving more than 28,000 people. More than 400 Siemens Canada employees have volunteered more than 3,000 hours participating in the workshops. The refurbishment process includes secure removal of all data from hard drives, as well as physical cleaning, installation of licensed software and testing.
"Today's students are tomorrow's leaders and those who will shape Canada's next 150 years," explains Richard Brait, General Counsel for Siemens Canada and the Executive sponsor of this laptop donation initiative. "In order to innovate these young people need access to technology and we're thankful to help make this possible and to support the valuable work of Corporations for Community Connections and World Vision Canada here at home and abroad."
About Siemens Canada
Siemens Canada is a leading technology partner that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality and reliability for more than 100 years. Siemens' expertise in the fields of electrification, automation and digitalization helps make real what matters to Canada, delivering solutions for sustainable energy, intelligent infrastructure, healthcare and the future of manufacturing. One of the world's largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a foremost supplier of power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment and laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. The company has approximately 5,000 employees, 44 offices and 15 production facilities from coast-to-coast. Sales for Siemens Canada in fiscal 2016 (ended September 30), were $3.1 billion CAD. Further information is available at http://www.siemens.ca
About Corporations for Community Connections, Inc.
Founded in 2010, Corporations For Community Connections, Inc. (CFCC) is a registered charity whose purpose is to refurbish decommissioned corporate computers for donation. To date, CFCC has refurbished 2,056 computers for donation to 50 charitable organizations and schools serving over 28,000 people. CFCC encourages corporations to adopt refurbishment as a cost effective, socially and environmentally responsible disposal alternative for computers. Website: http://c4cc.ca/
SOURCE Siemens Canada Limited
