Tulsa man rebuilds computers, donates them

An east Tulsa man is trying to help people who need computers, but right now, he nees some help himself.

Don Singleton is pretty much stuck in his lift-chair.

With severe balance and circulation problems, Don can't move around much. But he's always thinking about what he can do.

"I see a lot of people who whine. Are they any happier than I am? I don't think so," Don said.

Don doesn't want to take vacations or even go across town. He just wants to get to his garage, get to his computers and have the strength to carry them inside.

But he doesn't.

So he counts on people like Jack Allen, one of his volunteers.

Don started an organization called Helping Tulsa almost 10 years ago. He takes people's old donated computers and fixes them. Jack and several other volunteers help. They reconfigure them and give them to people who need them.

"In society, the way it's going, you need a computer," Jack said.

"This is better than nothing, and they can't afford anything, they think it's wonderful," Don said.

And even if the computer's old, as long as it works, people are happy to get one.

"It's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick," Don said.

For Don, the problem isn't fixing the computers. The problem is getting computers. People have just stopped donating them.

"Poor publicity I guess on our part," Don said.

Three out of his four bedrooms are full of parts - plus his garage. But Don needs more computers and more parts, so he can use the parts he already has.

His says he'll take any computer, whether it works or not. But he'd like to have Pentium Ones or newer.

Don and Jack want to fix whatever comes in.

And then give them away.

"It just makes me feel a sense of accomplishment," Jack said.

So Don sits and he waits.

"This is my minstiry for the rest of my life. I don't know when the Lord's going to take me home, but until he does I'll do something for people," Don said.

If you're worried about personal information that's on your hard drive, Don says the first thing he does is wipe it clean. He says he uses the same program as the Department of Defense. If you're really worried about it, he'll give you a disk or CD and you can do it yourself.

Don says even if your computer doesn't work, he can use it for parts. He also needs your old monitor, key pad and mouse.

If you want to donate your old computer, you can call Don at (918)622-3417 or go to www.helpingtulsa.org