Partners¶

Second Boot runs on a network of partners — none of whom we replace, all of whom we extend. The program is designed to fit into what's already working in the community, not to start a parallel system.

Partner categories¶

Education¶

Local K-12 schools — Laptop donation drives organized through schools, after-school computer lab days, student-built devices as service projects, teacher training on the curated software stack.

Infrastructure¶

Makerspace — Primary refurbishment site. Where triage, repair, and OS installs happen. The makerspace is also where hardware-technician trainees learn on real devices. This partnership is foundational and the program does not function without it.

Recovery¶

Addiction recovery centers — Tech literacy as part of life rebuilding. Heavy use of Module 05 — Job Skills. Peer support integrated into instructor model where possible.

Reentry¶

Reentry programs / transitional housing — Currently and previously incarcerated participants. Device award upon completion. Heavy emphasis on digital reintegration, fair-chance employer search, and identity rebuilding. For currently incarcerated populations: emphasis on offline Ollama (no internet access required).

Seniors¶

Senior centers and libraries — Dedicated slow-paced track (Module 08). Telehealth, video calls, scam prevention. Patience-first instruction. Buddy system with volunteers required.

Youth¶

After-school programs — Scratch coding, creative tech, digital citizenship. The device award is a meaningful motivator for sustained attendance over a term.

Shelters and food banks — Outreach touchpoint, not classroom site. The "bring-to-them" model means Second Boot meets vulnerable adults where they already are, then transitions them into a partner-org cohort.

Donors¶

Local businesses and IT departments — The corporate laptop retirement pipeline. Tax-deductible donations. Some donor companies also organize employee volunteer days at the makerspace.

Charleston-area makerspace candidates¶

The Infrastructure partnership (above) is foundational: the program needs a makerspace to do triage, repair, and OS installs at any scale. The following Charleston-area makerspaces are researched outreach candidates. None are committed partners yet — formalizing one is a Phase 0 exit criterion (see Partner status below).

Name	Phone	Hours	Address	Web
The Maker's Center	(681) 265-3745	Mon–Thu 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM; closed Fri–Sun	602 Patrick St, Charleston, WV 25387	biblecenterchurch.com
Westside Makerspace	(see website)	Varies by class schedule + member access	840 Germantown St, CSU West Building, 2nd Floor	westsidemakerspace.com · Facebook
WVSU Economic Development Center	(304) 720-1404	Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM	1506 Kanawha Blvd W, Charleston, WV 25312	wvsuedc.org
The IDEA Lab (Kanawha County Public Library)	(304) 343-4646	Mon–Thu 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM; Fri–Sat 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Sun 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM	123 Capitol St, Charleston, WV 25301	kcpls.org
The Clay Center Makerspace	(304) 561-3570	Tue–Sat 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Sun 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM; closed Mon	1 Clay Square, Charleston, WV 25301	theclaycenter.org

On outreach approach

[HYPOTHESIS] Not all five spaces are likely to be equally good fits for the primary refurbishment site role — that role requires bench space and hardware tools (screwdrivers, anti-static mats, multi-monitor stations for parallel OS installs). Some of these spaces may be better suited to be delivery sites for curriculum modules (e.g. the IDEA Lab as a delivery site for Module 02 (Internet Safety) or Module 08 (Seniors); the Clay Center as a delivery site for Module 06 (Creative & Expressive Tech)).

Outreach should ask, in this order: (1) Do you have hardware-repair bench space available to a partner program? (2) Would you be willing to host curriculum sessions for our audience? (3) Are you connected to other community partners (recovery, reentry, schools, seniors) that could refer participants?

Partner commitments¶

Each partner relationship is documented with a simple memorandum of understanding covering:

Who hosts cohort sessions and on what schedule
Which audience and which curriculum modules
Device disposition for that cohort (which graduates qualify under which award track)
Who is the named point of contact on both sides
How participant outcomes are tracked (within the partner's existing systems where possible)

Partner status¶

[HYPOTHESIS] This partner map describes the target set of relationships. As of Phase 0, formal commitments are limited. The Phase 0 exit criteria require at least one of each category below:

[ ] Makerspace partnership formalized in writing
[ ] One pilot delivery partner (recovery, library, school, or reentry)
[ ] One donor pipeline (corporate IT department)

What we ask of partners¶

A space to host cohort sessions
A point of contact who knows the participants and can recruit
Honest feedback on what's working and what isn't
Respect for the program's epistemic honesty commitment: we don't overclaim outcomes to partners, and we ask partners not to overclaim Second Boot to their own funders or members

What partners can expect from Second Boot¶

Reliable instructor presence on agreed dates
Refurbished devices for graduates that actually work
Per-device wipe certificates for any device donated through that partner
Honest reporting of cohort outcomes, including what didn't work
Help connecting the partner to other parts of the BNI ecosystem when relevant (e.g., mpowerup for recovery-network safety tooling)