Help 1 Who has Helped Thousands

[SeZo]

I have been following Ken Starks (HeliOS Project) for a while and admiring his achievements in distributing second hand computers
with Linux installed to underprivilege d children in Texas:
http://linuxlock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/this-is-where-we-are.html

http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/75947.html

For those who don't know him, Starks is a Linux advocate who has worked tirelessly for years equipping underprivilege d kids with refurbished and Linux-powered PCs through the HeliOS Project, which has figured on LinuxInsider's virtual pages on several occasions in the past.

An Indiegogo campaign is now under way to raise funds for Starks' surgery.

Ken Starks has helped thousands of Texans by refurbishing and placing computers in low-income households.
Now, he needs the community's help to fight cancer.

http://www.indiegogo.com/helios

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

I came across the HeliOS project (now Reglue) and blog quite some time ago .. and would find it hard to think of anyone more deserving of well wishes and support.

[SeZo]

Yeah, well deserving of any support he may get. I of course contributed to this campaign in my own small way.
I often wondered if what he and his team were doing could be (or have been) mirrored over here.
There must be thousands of perfectly workable PC's Laptops etc sent to landfills around the country.

[galaxytdm]

Yea, I almost cried when I went to the local refuse site the other day.
There must have been 20 PC's there.
I asked if I could pinch a few or just some components (I was particularly interested in the alienware one) but they said no.

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Makes you wonder what they do with them

[BkS]

They turn them into washing machines, or stupid things, like odd shaped lamps...

[glitch]

They turn them into washing machines, or stupid things, like odd shaped lamps...

Washing machines??  Washing socks one at a time!

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

I'm sure I read somewhere they can recover small amounts of gold from some components, so my guess is that they have a deal with a company that does something like that in bulk.

Or maybe there are legal implications concerning data that has been entrusted to them .. the UK has some powerful data protection laws .. not that it stops the government "mislaying" data.

Or both.

[BkS]

I like our laws the way it is to be honest. There are a lot of loopholes in them which makes it great if you happen to have a "digital" copy of something. Besides they can't do anything with my harddrives, because "It's not physical data"

[SeZo]

The campaign on IndieGoGo has raised a commendable $15,767 $17,302http://www.indiegogo.com/helios
plus the donate button on the page puts it up to $27,600 $31,100(total from all sources) http://thomasaknight.com/blog.php?id=71
Their goal is $50,000 and 4 days to go.

[SeZo]

Good news, he found his surgeon:

The long and short of it?  Dr. Scholl has agreed to provide me the life-saving surgery I need, and will work for whatever we raise.  I will be given medication to slow and treat the existing cancer, thus buying me time until the surgery can be performed.

http://linuxlock.blogspot.ca/2012/08/it-started-with-hopelessness.html

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

That's terrific news .. though I must say the US medical care is pretty sick if the richest country in the world is willing to let people die for being not rich enough, or poor enough

Well done Doctor Peter Scholl for setting aside the bureaucracy, and stepping up .. you sir are a star.

[SeZo]

Just a bit of a update on how the treatment is going:
http://linuxlock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/life-after-r-word.html