Overview
In exchange for 24 hours of service, volunteers can earn a free refurbished computer.  Volunteers in our Earn-A-Box program spend their time:

• Learning about the environmental impact of e-waste
• Tearing computers apart and learning about their components
• Testing individual computer parts, cards, and peripherals
• Building computers from good components
• Learning about and installing the GNU/Linux operating system
• Having a really good time

The Earn-A-Computer program provides an excellent opportunity to get tons of hands-on experience with a wide variety of computer hardware and to learn firsthand the challenges and satisfaction of building a working system.

Orientation
New volunteers must complete the FreeGeek Chicago orientation before beginning as a volunteer.  Orientation is currently held at 11:30AM on Fridays and Sundays during OpenBuild and usually lasts around 2 hours.  New volunteers should arrive for orientation at least ten minutes in advance to sign-in.

What You Get
After completing the 24 hours of service, volunteers receive a $75.00 credit towards anything in the FreeGeek thrift store.  This includes full desktop systems starting at $40.00, laptops starting at $75.00, LCD monitors, etc.  Volunteers can also build out their own desktop from barebones systems and any of our system parts; we'll price it and take $75.00 off.