I was out on the road with Bill Coleman last week. On Friday we visited with Renae Tostenson, Superintendent at Lac qui Parle Valley school district. I will write more about that visit later – but I wanted to post a story she shared with us for Christmas about a family in Western Minnesota and their new Christmas computer…

Renae does a great job telling the story – but for folks who would rather read than watch, here’s a recap. Renae was working with PCs for People to distribute computers to low income families in her area. One mother thanked her profusely adding that the computer was going to be a Christmas present –receiving it meant that she wouldn’t have to choose between buying gifts or feeding her kids over the Christmas break.

Besides being a heck of a Christmas gift, that free computer is also an investment in their future. The kids can use it for homework. The mom can use it to build work skills. And I suspect they will find ways for the computer to help save them money.

Just a nice reminder for all of us who may be getting our kids new electronica for the holidays or working in businesses getting new computers for 2013 – PCs for People offers a great reuse program. They accept computers, clean them up and distribute them to a families who needs them. They also accept financial donations. Think of it as a personal investment in helping the state get to better broadband adoption by 2015!