With more and more schools shifting to distanced learning this Fall, computers are becoming a necessary back-to-school item. 

The problem is that there is a massive computer shortage. Entire school districts are struggling to find enough stock. 

And for many students whose families have been economically impacted, laptops and desktops are simply unaffordable. 

15-year-old Christopher Kilpatrick saw this problem among his Florida classmates.

The upcoming sophomore started the summer interning with a technology company called Urban Mining. While he was there, he had a realization.

The company was constantly receiving retired machines from businesses that were then salvaged for parts and discarded. 

Christopher saw an opportunity and seized it. He spent the whole summer refurbishing the tech and donating it to students in his school district. 

He’s given out 20 computers so far. 

The honor student said there were lessons learned from his summer internship. He learned the lesson of giving and the lesson of good stewardship.

“One great thing I learned from this is the importance of recycling,” he told the local news.

Meanwhile, Urban Mining aims to carry on Christopher’s project, assigning future interns the job of refurbishing and donating retired computers. 

Hopefully, stories like this one spread, and tech companies around the country step in to help bridge the digital divide for distance learning.