Bridging the Digital Divide

Back in high school, Dylan Zajac and his friends would go to thrift stores not to buy clothes, but computers. They’d then fix them up and sell them online.

At the time, Zajac didn’t know this side hustle would lead to something much more impactful.

From speaking with the thrift store owners, Zajac found out that many people don’t know what to do with their old devices. They either drop them at thrift stores, or burn them instead of properly recycling them.

“It is really bad for the environment,” the 22-year old said. “It lets off a lot of carbon emissions, but also those toxic metals will leak into your water, soil and air and then you end up drinking that water and getting very sick.”

After he found this out, Zajac decided to refurbish the computers and donate them to people in need, instead of selling them. So in 2019, he started his nonprofit Computers 4 People. Since then, he has donated more than 5,000 computers.

“Having a computer when I was younger opened up so many opportunities and I wanted to give that opportunity to other people,” Zajac said.

With Zajac’s model, the process is simple. Companies and individuals donate their used devices to the organization. Then, his team wipes all their data, so that donors’ information is protected.

Next, the computers get fixed, cleaned and packed up so they’re ready to be sent out. Finally, the team works with more than 400 nonprofits to figure out who to send them to.

Zajac explained he wants to take the organization global, especially when it comes to making AI accessible.

“AI labs need to get involved as well to make sure that everyone has access to a computer and everyone has access to AI,” Zajac said. “I think C4P will be one of the organizations in history that makes that happen and makes sure that everyone has equitable access.”

Zajac said his main goal is to donate one million computers by 2030.

For now, Zajac and his team have already donated thousands of devices and reached more than 12,000 people through their digital skills classes.

Every day, they receive dozens of new applications from people hoping to get a computer.

This story ran on the What’s What podcast from WFUV News on October 6, 2025.