six reasons for families 

 

Parity International is a non-profit membership organization.  Together, ...

 

1)  We provide certified, subsidized, computing systems to qualified families and non-profit organizations,

 

2)  Together, we recover potentially harmful refuse.  Disgarded computers displace lead and other harmful elements into an unprepared ecosystem.

 

By year 2007, estimates suggest over a half billion obsolete computers reside in the United States. Electronic waste (E-waste) is the fastest growing problem that is currently facing the United States. A study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that e-waste constitutes 4% of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream and is growing 2-3 times faster than any other waste stream in this country. Research further reveals that only 10% of American households are currently recycling their e-waste. Furthermore, 56% of American Households have functional E-Products they will no longer use. [Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gartner, and AC Nielsen]

3)  Data from studies for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) strongly suggest that families that use a computer together for educational instruction are more likely to report improvement on individual test scores.  No Child Left Behind (NCLB) also requires schools to develop ways to get parents more involved in their child's education via Supplemental Educational Services.  Parity is a "Supplemental Educational Support Service."

Data from US Department of Education suggest that certain classes of US citizens do not have equal access to information technology and may become “left behind” as information technology becomes a standard of living within our classrooms and global economy. According to Computers and Internet Use by Students in 2003 (Released Sept. 2006), Table B-1 Percentage of adults who use computers and the Internet, by adult and family/household characteristics, from US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, and US Census Bureau:

Only 23% of Spanish speaking only households use a computer, only 28% of 65 and over households use a computer, only 30% of disabled adults use a computer, and only 35% of individuals living in poverty use a computer.

4)  According to the following link to UNICEF's "The State of the World's Children 2005: Childhood Under Threat," 300 million children lack access to information, and 140 million children have never been to school.