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News | June 27, 2018

109th AW donates computers to Anderson Center for Autism

By Master Sgt. Catharine Schmidt 109th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

The Anderson Center for Autism in Staatsburg, New York, has about 100 new computers thanks to the 109th Airlift Wing and the Department of Defense’s computers for learning (CFL) program.

“We are allowed to donate computers that are no longer in service to local schools to help them save money and give them brand new assets to replace old and aging assets,” said Senior Master Sgt. Patrick Reimann, 109th Communications Flight superintendent of policy and plans.

According to the Defense Logistics Agency, The DOD CFL program was created to provide useful IT equipment to schools and educational nonprofit organizations serving grades pre-K through 12. The program is designed to streamline the transfer of excess and surplus DOD IT equipment to schools.

Airmen with the 109th Communications Flight took the old computers to clean them up and then distributed them to the center on June 4. Without the program, the computers would have been returned to the Defense Logistics Agency for repurpose or destruction.

Computers on base are life-cycled every four years allowing many computers to be donated each year, said Reimann. 

The Anderson center will use the computers in their computer club and their electronic library. According to Christine Wolcott of the center, this donation saves them roughly $30,000.

“Not only does this provide quicker and more effective technology, it also allows us to stretch our budget for other needs like life-experience trips,” she said.

The Anderson Center for Autism’s philosophy states that “all people deserve to live a life of quality. ACA has evolved into an organization that has the expertise, resources and technology to enable the agency to contribute much toward the optimization of the quality of life of those it services.”

“The 109th is building community relationships through the computers for learning program by helping school organizations that do not have the financial resources to purchase or upgrade computers in the classroom,” Reimann said. “This is a great way to partner the Air National Guard , 109th Airlift Wing and the Defense Logistics Agency with the community as well as provide much-needed and updated computers to the classroom.”


Editor's note: The original story can be viewed on the 109th Airlift Wing website.