Kramden Institute Email Format
Non-profit OrganizationsUnited States51-200 Employees
Kramden Institute: Connecting Carolinians and building digital opportunities. Kramden was founded in 2003 with the goal of getting personal, home computers to deserving students in grades 3-12 in need of one. Since then, thousands of volunteers have helped refurbish and give over 58,000 donated computers to people cross 85 of the state’s 100 counties. We cultivate both private and public organizations to donate their retiring computer equipment to Kramden which we then refurbish and award through our various hardware programs. Currently, we provide 5,000+ computers annually to students, adults and other nonprofits in need. In 2013, Kramden revamped its strategy to begin offering digital literacy and tech education programs to members of our communities in order to complement our computer hardware programs. We came to the realization that owning a computer without being able to effectively use one was not actually closing the digital divide. In the time since, more than 14,000 adults and students have gone through our various STEAM programs, learning everything from the basics of operating a computer to programming and designing their own video games. We currently offer digital literacy training in our offfice in Durham, as well as off-site around the Triangle, and in 15+ communities (Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, Fayetteville, Greensboro, etc.) where trained Community Technology Instructors deliver our curriculum and distribute devices. Our curriculum has been delivered in English, Spanish, and French.