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Computer repairman links single mothers, Internet
Martin Brown is on a mission.When he's not working as a landscaper for the Town of Warrenton, Brown finds old computers and either fixes them or uses working parts from the machines to fix other computers.
“I find them, I clean them up and then I put the programs in,” he explained.
Afterward, he donates them to the Salvation Army in Warrenton. To date, Brown has donated 131 machines to the organization. They are then given to single parents.
“We are the only service center in the world that has this type of program,” said Naomi Long, who manages the organization's thrift shop in Old Town. “The fact that so many computers go to single moms is heart-warming. Martin is a good man,” she added.
Brown, a Warrenton resident who's been fixing computers for the past couple of years, said he hasn't had any specialized training. Instead, he learned how to fix the machines on his own — after seeking some guidance from above.
“I asked the Lord to help me learn about computers,” he recalled. “I started working with them, and, as time went on, I just got better and better at it. It is elementary to me now.”
Most of the machines he repairs and donates are PCs, but he said he also gets some Macs. Although the majority are desktop models, Brown said he's also learned how to fix laptop or notebook computers.
Brown said he gets his "raw materials" from local computer repair businesses. He said he's gotten 40 to 50 from Dok Klaus Computer Care in Warrenton within just the past couple of weeks.
“Some of them have been junk, but there have been others I've been able to fix,” Brown said.
Klaus Fuechsel, who owns the business, said he was happy to make the latest contribution since his company will soon relocate within the town of Warrenton.
“He's been coming by and asking us [for donations] for the past couple of years,” Fuechsel said. “It is definitely mutually beneficial. These are usually older machines that are good enough to do some basic [Internet] surfing. So it is better than throwing them away.”
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com
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