Laptop Ministry — Annual Report

Peoples Church of Chicago

April 2026

Synopsis

The Laptop Ministry of Peoples Church of Chicago is a single-operator volunteer program dedicated to bridging the digital divide in Chicago by refurbishing donated computers and placing them with individuals who cannot afford technology access. Operating from a small church office since the summer of 2023, the ministry has served 82 individuals and organizations across 32 months — deploying refurbished laptops, desktops, tablets, and conversion services to people facing poverty, homelessness, incarceration recovery, substance abuse recovery, disability, and educational barriers.

This report covers cumulative program activity from August 2023 through April 2026, with detailed comparison against the most recent twelve-month period of April 2025 through April 2026. It reflects data drawn from the program's waitlist, service records, and inventory system, and presents an honest assessment of both accomplishments and areas requiring growth — particularly in equipment acquisition and volunteer capacity.

The ministry's signature approach — installing open-source Linux operating systems on aging hardware — allows machines that would otherwise be discarded to serve real community needs, extending device life by years and saving recipients the cost of commercial software licenses. This model is both environmentally responsible and financially sustainable on a near-zero operating budget.

1. Program Overview

Field	Detail
Program Name	Laptop Ministry
Host Organization	Peoples Church of Chicago
Program Type	Technology Access / Digital Equity Ministry
Operating Since	August 2023
Operator	One person (volunteer pastor/coordinator)
Location	Church office, Chicago, IL
Service Model	Refurbished laptop donation, Linux installation, device conversion, parts supply
Primary OS Deployed	Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Pop OS, Zorin OS (open source)
Cost to Recipient	Free
Reporting Period	April 2026 Annual Report (all-time data Aug 2023–Apr 2026)

The program operates on a request-and-waitlist model. Community members learn of the ministry through Facebook groups, word of mouth, church membership, referrals from partner organizations (Salvation Army, Haymarket, Mission USA, Grace House), and since 2025, a public website sign-up form. Each request is assessed for urgency, need, and available inventory. Devices are refurbished with Linux to maximize usability on older hardware before being distributed.

2. At-a-Glance Metrics

All-Time Totals (August 2023 – April 2026)

Metric	Value
Total Waitlist Entries	133
Total Served (devices received or services rendered)	82
Direct Community Recipients	~70
Church / Ministry Operations	~5
Refurbishment / Conversion Services	~7
Currently on Active Waitlist	51
Ready to Deploy (awaiting pickup)	5
Priority Cases Still Waiting	14
Longest Active Wait	~26 months
Tracked Inventory Items	64
Estimated Value of Donations Tracked	$7,885
Devices Discarded / Recycled	4 (6.2%)
Estimated Devices Repaired & Deployed	50+

Last Twelve Months (April 2025 – April 2026)

Metric	Value
New Requests Received	60
Served in Period	30
Direct Community Recipients	21
Church / Ministry Operations	3
Refurbishment / Conversion Services	7
Fulfillment Rate (requests received vs. served)	~50%
Inventory Items Logged	57
Estimated Value of Donations (period)	$7,300

3. Year-Over-Year Comparison

Requests Received by Year

Year	Requests Received	Served	Fulfillment Rate	Notes
2023 (Aug–Dec)	41	32	78%	Program launch; strong initial demand and supply
2024 (Jan–Dec)	23	7	30%	Significant supply constraint; limited inventory
2025 (Jan–Dec)	55	32	58%	Program recovery; major donation influx
2026 (Jan–Apr, YTD)	14	6	43%	Ongoing operations; 51 on active waitlist
All-Time Total	133	82	62%

Note on 2024: The steep drop in service delivery in 2024 (7 served vs. 32 in 2023) reflects a documented challenge in acquiring donated laptops, which is a recurring constraint for a one-person program with no dedicated sourcing infrastructure. This gap is addressed in the Areas for Improvement section.

Last Year vs. Full Program Lifespan

Metric	Last Year (Apr '25–Apr '26)	All-Time (Aug '23–Apr '26)
New Requests	60	133
Served	30	82
Avg. Requests per Month	5.0	4.2
Avg. Served per Month	2.5	2.6
Inventory Items Acquired	57	64
Donation Value Tracked	$7,300	$7,885
Devices Discarded	4 (all logged in this period)	4
Priority Cases Served	Several	14+

The last twelve months represent the most active and well-documented period in the ministry's history. The introduction of a formal inventory tracking system in May 2025 enabled more accurate reporting, though it also means prior years (especially 2023–2024) are likely under-represented in inventory records.

4. Recipients Served — Needs Analysis

Community Need Categories (All Requests, 2023–2026)

The following table reflects stated needs at the time of request. Many individuals cited multiple intersecting needs; the primary or most prominent was used for categorization.

Need Category	Count	% of Total	Representative Examples
Education / School	35	26%	Online coursework, GED, college classes, certification programs
Employment / Job Search	33	25%	Résumé submission, remote work, interviews, career transition
Recovery Support	9	7%	CADC certification, recovery housing programs, addiction counseling education
Church / Ministry Operations	9	7%	Church services, pastoral care, Laptop Ministry itself
Disability / Accessibility	6	5%	Vision limitations, autism support, mobility restrictions
Justice Involvement	6	5%	Recently released from incarceration, Salvation Army residents
Housing Insecurity	4	3%	Homeless individuals taking courses, recently housed families
Senior / Fixed Income	4	3%	Retired individuals, elder care, first computer
Other / General Access	27	20%	Social media, general internet, family use, civic engagement
Total	133	100%

Key Observations

Education and employment together account for over half (51%) of all requests. This reflects a community where technology access is not a luxury but a prerequisite for economic mobility.
Recovery program participants represent a consistent and urgent sub-population. CADC certification, Grace House residents, and Haymarket clients need laptops to complete coursework that can transform their lives. These cases frequently come with a time-sensitive deadline.
Housing-insecure individuals present the greatest operational challenge — they are often hardest to reach for follow-up and pickup coordination, yet have the greatest need.
Multiple recipients are repeat service cases, returning for device upgrades, replacement of failed hardware, or Linux conversion of a device they already own. This "repair and refresh" role is a growing part of the ministry's identity.

Geographic and Referral Reach

Recipients have come through a diverse network of channels reflecting both church community and broader Chicago outreach:

Referral Channel	Description
Facebook Groups / Messenger	Largest single channel; public-facing community groups
Peoples Church Members	Congregation referrals and direct members
Partner Organizations	Salvation Army, Haymarket, Mission USA, Grace House
Word of Mouth / Personal Referral	Recipient-to-recipient and volunteer networks
Public Website Form (2025–present)	New channel; produced 20+ entries in first months
SMS / Phone	Direct contact via ministry phone number

5. Inventory, Equipment & Donations

Inventory Overview (Formally Tracked: May 2025 – April 2026)

The ministry began formal inventory tracking in May 2025. Prior to this, the program operated with informal records. The 64 items below represent the currently tracked inventory pool.

Category	Count	Est. Value
Laptops / Computers (untagged type)	25	~$3,200
Computers (tagged)	22	~$2,800
Parts, Accessories & Peripherals	17	~$1,885
Total	64	$7,885

Device Status at Time of Reporting

Status	Count	%	Description
Deployed / Closed (served)	~37	~58%	Delivered to recipients or used in ministry operations
Ready for Deployment	19	30%	Available and prepared
In Repair	7	11%	Being assessed or repaired
Vintage / Parts Only	5	8%	Too old to deploy but retained for components
Discarded / Recycled	4	6%	Beyond viable use (see Section 6)

Totals may exceed 100% due to partial overlap between repair and deployment-ready categories.

Major Donations Received (May 2025–April 2026)

Donor Category	Items	Est. Value	Notable Items
Primary private donor ("Dave")	29	$3,780	Dell Precision workstations, MacBook Pros, HP Elitebooks, iPad, monitors, power supplies, tools
Church members	6	$1,100	2x MacBook Air 2019, HP Envy, iMac
Community recipients (trade-in)	5	$370	Dell Inspiron, MBP 2011, Lenovo Yoga
Anonymous donors	9	$385	Various laptops, parts, power supplies
Ministry self-purchase	5	$370	Batteries, CMOS cells, SSDs, calculator
Other named donors	10	$1,880	Dell Precision desktop, MacBook Air, Toshiba, Samsung

A single private donor ("Dave") contributed 48% of total tracked donation value — a meaningful dependency that represents both a strength and a risk discussed in Section 9.

Device Brands Deployed (All Time)

Brand	Approx. Count	Notes
Dell (various Precision, Latitude, Inspiron)	25+	Most common; workhorses of the program
Apple (MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro)	18+	Popular for portability; often donated by community
HP (Elitebook, Envy, G-series)	10+	Reliable mid-range hardware
Lenovo (ThinkPad, IdeaPad, Yoga)	6+	Strong Linux compatibility
Toshiba / Asus / Samsung / Acer	8+	Supplementary supply

Operating Systems Deployed

The ministry's commitment to open-source Linux is central to its mission — enabling older hardware to run modern, secure software at no cost to recipients.

Operating System	Deployments	% of Served
Linux Mint (PCC build)	30	37%
Ubuntu (PCC build)	9	11%
Pop OS	6	7%
Zorin OS	2	2%
MX Linux	1	1%
Linux (other/custom)	4	5%
macOS (retained)	4	5%
iOS / iPadOS	1	1%
Windows / Legacy (special use)	2	2%
Not recorded / service-only	~23	28%
Total	82

Linux-based deployments account for approximately 63% of all tracked serves, with macOS accounting for 5% (where hardware is newer and the recipient benefits from native OS). Windows is used only in special-purpose cases (e.g., legacy software compatibility, hobbyist use).

6. Waste, Disposal & Repair Rates

Discarded / Recycled Devices

Of 64 tracked inventory items, 4 (6.2% by count, 2.3% by value) were designated for discard or parts-only use:

Item	Reason	Disposition
Lot of 4 MacBooks (2009–2018 era)	Beyond viable repair; parts retained	Useful components harvested; chassis recycled
Dell Inspiron 15 (2015 era)	Non-working display	Scrap: HDD, memory, battery salvaged
MacBook (2008, white)	Backlight failure	Parts designation
iBook G4 (2003 era)	Backlight failure; extreme age	Scrap

Key Takeaway: The discard rate is remarkably low. The ministry's approach of triaging aging hardware — retaining salvageable components (hard drives, memory, batteries, power supplies) for use in other devices — maximizes every donated item. Discarded chassis typically yield useful parts before recycling.

Repair Activity

Of 64 tracked items, 7 (10.9%) are currently in active repair or assessment:

Item (ID)	Issue	Status
HP Elitebook 820 G3 (UL7C)	LCD screen issues	Repair
MacBook Pro 13" (X5J5)	No SSD, bad battery	Repair
3x MacBook Pros 2010–12 (LP2V)	Various; refurbishment	Repair
2x MacBook Pros 2012–14 (61IQ)	Various; refurbishment	Repair
HP Envy w360 (IW1I)	Data recovery; OS install	Repair
MacBook 2010 (SHVR)	Overheating; memory re-seated	Ready (resolved 3/22/26)
MacBook 2006 (IY4I)	Sticky keyboard	Repair

Waste vs. Repair Summary

Category	Count	% of Inventory
Deployed and serving community	~37	~58%
Ready for deployment	19	30%
Under repair (will be deployed)	7	11%
Vintage (retained for history/parts)	5	8%
Discarded / Recycled	4	6.2%

The ministry achieves a repair and deployment rate exceeding 93% of donated items. This is an exceptional figure for a single-operator program without a dedicated workshop or tool budget.

7. Waitlist Status

Current Queue (As of April 4, 2026)

Status	Count
Total active waitlist entries	133
Served (all-time)	82
Pending / Not yet served	51
Ready (device assigned, awaiting pickup)	5
Priority-flagged and still waiting	14

Wait Time Analysis (Served Recipients)

For the 75 served recipients with documentable request and pickup dates:

Wait Duration	Count	%
Same day – 2 weeks	30	40%
2 weeks – 3 months	26	35%
3 months – 1 year	12	16%
Over 1 year	7	9%
Median wait	21 days
Average wait	91 days
Longest wait (served)	636 days

40% of recipients were served within two weeks of their request — a remarkable turnaround for a volunteer program. However, the 9% who waited over a year and the 14 current priority cases waiting as long as 26 months reveal the supply-side bottleneck that constrains the program's impact.

Longest-Waiting Active Cases (as of April 2026)

Some individuals on the waitlist have been waiting for equipment for extended periods, including individuals connected to Haymarket services, Salvation Army residents, school students, and individuals with prison ministry connections. Several cases have been waiting 18–26 months. These cases represent the most urgent unmet need in the program.

8. Service Delivery Metrics

Monthly Service Rate

Period	Avg. Requests/Month	Avg. Served/Month
2023 (Aug–Dec, 5 months)	8.2	6.4
2024 (12 months)	1.9	0.6
2025 (12 months)	4.6	2.7
2026 (Jan–Apr, 4 months)	3.5	1.5
All-time average	4.2/mo	2.6/mo

Service Type Breakdown — Last Year (Apr 2025–Apr 2026)

Service Type	Count	Description
Direct community recipient (device given)	21	Laptop or device placed with individual in need
Refurbishment / conversion service	7	Recipient's own device refurbished with Linux
Church / ministry operations	3	Equipment for Peoples Church operations or ministry work
Total	31	(Slight discrepancy due to multi-event records)

The growth of refurbishment-as-a-service (converting a recipient's own Windows device to Linux) is a notable emerging trend. This model requires no donated hardware and serves individuals who already have a device but cannot afford or navigate commercial OS replacement — extending device life at minimal cost to the ministry.

9. Areas for Improvement

9.1 Laptop Acquisition & Sourcing

This is the ministry's most critical constraint. The 2024 data (7 serves in 12 months vs. 32 in the prior 5 months) demonstrates how dramatically supply shortages throttle impact. Currently, the program relies heavily on:

A small number of private donors (one donor provided 48% of tracked donations)
Spontaneous community drop-offs
Church member contributions

Recommended improvements:

Initiative	Description	Priority
Corporate IT surplus partnerships	Contact Chicago-area companies, law firms, schools, and hospitals with IT refresh cycles to donate decommissioned laptops in bulk	High
Municipal / CPS partnerships	Chicago Public Schools and City of Chicago regularly surplus aging equipment; apply for formal partnership or nonprofit status to receive these	High
Repair café / community drop-off events	Host quarterly drop-off events at Peoples Church to encourage community members to donate unused devices	Medium
Online donation campaigns	Seasonal fundraising drives (school year start, back-to-school, holidays) specifically for laptop acquisition	Medium
Laptop buyback / resale supplement	Purchase low-cost refurbished units (~$30–60) from thrift stores and estate sales to supplement donations	Low
Estate and corporate surplus listings	Monitor Chicago-area surplus auctions, Freecycle, Nextdoor, and Facebook Marketplace for free/cheap donations	Medium

9.2 Establishing a Small Volunteer Program

The ministry is currently operated by a single individual. This creates bottlenecks in every dimension: refurbishment time, recipient follow-up, donor coordination, and inventory management. Even 2–4 part-time volunteers would dramatically increase capacity.

Proposed volunteer roles:

Role	Time Commitment	Skills Needed
Linux Refurbishment Technician	2–4 hrs/week	Basic Linux, willingness to learn
Recipient Coordinator	1–2 hrs/week	Communication, organization
Intake & Inventory Clerk	1 hr/week	Data entry, attention to detail
Donation Solicitation Volunteer	As available	Relationship-building, writing
Social Media / Outreach	1–2 hrs/week	Facebook, basic writing

Suggested recruitment channels:

Peoples Church congregation
Chicago-area Linux user groups (ChiLUG and similar)
Computer science programs at local community colleges (volunteer credit)
AmeriCorps and service-year programs
Retired IT professionals through senior centers and LinkedIn

9.3 Inventory and Tracking Enhancements

The formal inventory system, launched in May 2025, is a significant improvement. Recommended next steps:

Backfill pre-2025 records with best estimates to complete the historical picture
Track device age and hardware specifications to better match recipients to appropriate hardware
Photograph all incoming devices for documentation
Create a simple intake checklist to standardize the condition assessment of donated equipment
Track outcomes — follow up with recipients 3–6 months post-delivery to document impact

9.4 Waitlist Management

14 priority cases remain unserved, some for over 2 years. A quarterly prioritization review should assess which cases are still active and actionable.
Recipients who have not responded to contact attempts in 6+ months should be moved to inactive status to keep the waitlist accurate.
The public website form (launched 2025) is producing a higher-than-average volume of requests — including many with detailed, compelling needs. A lightweight triage system would help manage this effectively.

9.5 Tax Status and Formal Donor Infrastructure

Many donors have received tax acknowledgment letters (noted in inventory). Formalizing a donation receipt workflow and ensuring the ministry is documented as a recognized program of Peoples Church would strengthen donor relationships and enable larger institutional giving.
Consider applying for a small technology equity grant through organizations such as the Chicago Community Trust, Motorola Solutions Foundation, or Microsoft Philanthropies.

10. Interpretive Conclusion

On the Success of the Program

What this data describes is quietly extraordinary.

In approximately 32 months, working out of a small office in a single Chicago church — with no dedicated budget, no staff, and persistent difficulty acquiring hardware — the Laptop Ministry has placed functioning computers in the hands of 82 people and organizations whose lives were tangibly changed by receiving them. A recovering addict completing CADC certification. A newly housed mother accessing online job applications. An elder receiving their very first computer. A refugee pursuing a master's degree. Someone recently released from incarceration learning how the world works through a browser.

These are not statistics. They are people for whom a refurbished laptop was a door.

The ministry's 93%+ utilization rate on donated hardware — achieving this through Linux refurbishment rather than disposal — reflects both technical competence and ethical commitment. The ministry does not waste. It finds the use in things that others have discarded.

The surge in 2025 (32 served, matching the launch year's momentum despite a difficult 2024) and the breadth of the 2025–2026 inventory record suggest that the program has entered a more mature, sustainable phase. The addition of a formal website intake form, structured inventory management, and multi-channel outreach shows organizational growth that is impressive for a one-person operation.

On the Potential of the Program

The data also reveals real constraints that, if addressed, could multiply the ministry's impact several times over.

The 51-person active waitlist — including 14 priority cases, some waiting over two years — represents unmet need that already exists and has been expressed. These are not hypothetical recipients. They are real people who raised their hands and are still waiting. The gap between them and a refurbished laptop is almost entirely one of supply: not enough donated machines coming in, not enough hands to refurbish them.

A modest investment in two things — a more systematic laptop acquisition pipeline, and even two or three trained volunteers — could realistically double the program's annual service rate. The model is proven. The demand is documented. The community trust has been established. The infrastructure, though modest, exists and works.

The Laptop Ministry of Peoples Church of Chicago is a program that has already demonstrated it can change lives with almost nothing. The question for 2026 and beyond is whether it can build just enough infrastructure — sourcing relationships, volunteer capacity, and formal documentation — to match its reach to its demonstrated purpose.

The potential is significant. The foundation is real.

Report compiled April 2026. Data sourced from ministry waitlist, service records, and inventory system. All recipient information has been treated with strict privacy; this report contains no personally identifying information. All statistics are derived from program records current through April 4, 2026.

Prepared by the Laptop Ministry, Peoples Church of Chicago.