Community Helps Elon Academy Students Excel
While most people go home at night after a long day on the job, at Kramden Institute the work is just getting started. Volunteers come to fix up donated computers and get them working again.
Mark Dibner is the organization’s founder. “They come because they have fun, because they’re geeks”, he said.
In 2003, Mark and his son bought a motherboard Ebay. Dibner is a biologist, so he had no tech experience. But they managed to make a computer from scratch.
“Ned turned to me and he said, This was a lot of fun, but there’s a whole bunch of kids at my school who can’t afford computers,” Dibner said. “How about if we build a few more, and we’ll give it to them?”
Behind each of the computers is a story. Once they’re refurbished, they are sent to a child who can’t afford to buy their own, giving them the chance to keep up in school. 
This summer, Kramden brought their generosity to Elon Academy students. It’s a program for academically gifted high-school kids with financial difficulty.
“I think that gives them one step to being one step closer to filling that gap, that technology gap that exists in our society,” Academy diretor Darris Means said.
And these days it’s crucial to have a computer at home.
Ethan Glenn was lucky enough to grow up with a computer at home. He volunteers at Kramden now to give back to the community.
“Participating in society, you need to know how to use a computer,” Glenn said, “and having one at home is how you really get familiar with it.”
Kramden hopes to grant that familiarity, helping students to excel both in their schoolwork and in society.
-Molly Dougherty
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