Beyond bricks and mortar, “home” is an idea—a state of mind. It stands for safety and belonging. In 2020, the demands we put on the notion of home have never been greater. For many, home now stands for schools, hospitals, and workplaces.

Home is being connected

For one migrant family forced from Nigeria, connection was needed now more than ever. The Kabari and Opgah family were part of the Habitat program who were also desperate for a laptop for their daughter, Elina; their Habitat home being their only refuge from continued threats to their health and safety that forced their migration. Elina’s hopes to further her college education as her way to help elevate her family, rides on being able to find connection.

In this context, a house without reliable technology falls short of being a home. That is why, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Central Arizona, and through the generosity of Charles Schwab, Sage’s GoodTogether program was able to coordinate delivery of 20 laptops to Habitat families, to turn their new dwellings into a fully fledged home.

Each family selected to receive laptops were those who had recently gone through the Habitat program, but who did not have any access to a computer or reliable technology. Donations were selected from Charles Schwab as they had a cache of gently used devices they were looking to decommission. You can read more about Schwab's generosity here. Sage’s philanthropic arm, GoodTogether, coordinated Schwab's incredible kindness with Habitat's specific need.

A birthday to remember

As the refurbishment and cleaning of the devices commenced, Elina's excitement grew. The idea that she could develop her education and help lift her displaced family into better circumstances was almost more than one girl could handle. And, as if designed by Fate, the delivery of her new connected device coincided with her own birthday.

Meeting this need for Elina and her family is exactly what GoodTogether is built for. As evidenced by Director of Family Services at Habitat CAZ, Maribel Saucedo: “On the behalf of the families that we serve at Habitat, thank you from the bottom of our hearts." Staff from the donor company were there to help set up the device and to witness firsthand the impact of their generosity. "Beyond the donation, the donors gave their time to the families.” Maribel continued, “That means everything.”

Unlike giving monetary donations, when businesses donate their end-of-life devices, a direct transaction is immediately available for the employees to see. That’s what makes giving in this way so powerful: the real-time impact. And when we support connection in individual homes, it benefits families, communities, nations, and even the world.

If you have used-but-still-usable technology that could support Habitat for Humanity families or other important community causes, please contact us or click the link below.