Microsoft Teams With Tools for Life to Provide PCs To People With Disabilities

ATLANTA, April 21, 1999 — As part of its continued effort to make computer technology accessible to all individuals, Microsoft Corp. is teaming with Tools for Life, a program operated by the Georgia Department of Human Resources, to update and distribute 80 PCs for free to people with disabilities. More than 20 volunteers, many with disabilities themselves, will be on hand at the Atlanta Explorer Conference, April 21 and 22, to update computers donated by Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. and load them with new Microsoft® software. The computers will then be delivered to regional Tools for Life centers throughout the state where recipients will receive training before taking home their new computers.

Microsoft’s contribution to the project includes software valued at $23,000 and a long-term commitment to support Tools for Life’s mission of enabling Georgians with disabilities through the use of technology.

“Microsoft is working hard both locally and at the corporate level to extend access and training to people with disabilities,”
said Marty Paradise, general manager, Southeast District, Microsoft.
“A major part of this effort involves supporting the important work of organizations like Tools for Life.”

The PC recycling event at Explorer, Microsoft’s annual technology and business conference and exposition held at AmericasMart Atlanta, is part of Tools for Life’s effort to enable the over 900,000 Georgians with disabilities to be more independent and successful in school, at work and in the community. In March 1998, Tools for Life established the ReBoot Computer Re-utilization Project to focus specifically on computer recycling, distribution and training. To date, ReBoot has donated more than 450 computers and 800 parts to individuals throughout the state and has become a model for PC recycling programs across the country. The ReBoot project receives federal funding through Tools for Life and is a statewide collaborative effort of many nonprofit organizations, including Touch the Future Inc. and Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC).

“People with disabilities need computers and software that will help them in school and at work,”
said Peggy Rosser, director of the Georgia Division of Rehabilitation Services.
“The Georgia ReBoot program puts donated computers in the hands of people with disabilities. Microsoft has been a big help to the program by donating software and working to remove employment barriers for people with disabilities.”

According to Carolyn Phillips, ReBoot project director,
“There is a wide and growing gap between people who have computers and those who don’t, and we are committed to narrowing that gap for people with disabilities. More career paths are opened and barriers are eliminated when people with disabilities have access to a computer and information technology tools. Thanks to our collaboration with Microsoft, people with disabilities are using their ReBoot computers to excel at school, in the workplace and in society.”

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and

personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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