ReGame, Inc.
Tackling the problem of E-Waste one gaming system at a time!
E-waste is Electronic waste. Last year more than 40 million tons of electronics were put into landfills..that's about 800 laptops EVERY SECOND!
E-Waste deposits toxic materials that can leach into our water supplies and wasting valuable materials like copper, gold and silver. 85% of our E-Waste are sent to incinerators, releasing toxic fumes into the air.
Currently only 12% of electronics are recycled. A phone call with our local waste center indicates that in our area of rural NC, there is very little electronic recycling happening. Our town is likely under the 12% reported nationwide.
It takes approximately 530 lbs of fossil fuel, 48 lbs of chemicals, and 1.5 tons of water to manufacture one gaming system and monitor.
We are striving to help keep used gaming systems out of landfills and get them in the hands of children who can enjoy them.
ReGame Inc. is a Non-Profit. The "Re" comes from REcycle, REuse and REduce E-waste.
ReGame, Inc. gives new life to old gaming consoles and tablets.
ReGame, Inc. is currently accepting used gaming systems (PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox, Wii etc.), handheld gaming systems, tablets, games, and controllers. Volunteers clean the systems and perform any needed repairs. The gaming systems and tablets are restored to the factory default. Volunteers then donate the systems to those who can enjoy them.
To date, ReGame has refurbished and donated over 50 gaming systems, iPads and tablets.
Currently, we are focusing on contacts with local Ronald McDonald Houses, Retirement Homes and Senior Centers, Baptist Children's Homes, Hospitals, and Foster Care Group homes. Individual parents can also apply to get a gaming system free of charge. This year, we were able to impact 19 children on Christmas with the gift of a refurbished gaming system.
The process is currently being done by the three of us. We clean the system, restore defaults and sync the remotes. If the gaming system isn't working, we use parts from other systems to repair the broken systems.
ReGame, Inc. directly benefits individuals and groups who may not have the financial means to purchase gaming systems or tablets. By providing the gaming systems and tablets, we can increase quality of life by adding in fun opportunities for the family to bond and play games. Additionally, several of the families we've given iPads and tablets have installed learning games and AAC (augmented communication) applications for several non-verbal children. This provides portable access to communication that the children did not have previously.
Additionally, our work with nursing homes provides a bonding opportunity when grandchildren come to visit their adults in the facility. Similarly, installing systems in foster care group homes and Ronald McDonald houses provides opportunity to escape, have fun and play with one another.
Finally, our entire community and world are impacted by the reduction in E-waste by the recycling and reuse of these systems instead of putting them in a landfill. In our first year of running the non-profit, more than 50 systems were kept out of landfills.
Lydia, the team lead, is an accomplished public speaker. She was the Keynote at the Women in STEM conference in Bowling Green University and has competed in the World Regional Optimist Club competition, as well as receiving numerous accolades in public speaking. She would be poised to speak about the non-profit to bring awareness about E-waste.
Lydia is also an inventor and has been recognized nationally as one of the 74 Million's 16 Under 16 in STEM. As such, she has a vast network of individuals who could help to spread awareness of E-waste and help set up chapters of ReGame in schools across the US.
Elijah is a student at the NC School of Math and science and has specific expertise in hardware and software through his programming classes there. He is adept at repairing and resetting the systems that come into ReGame.
Bethany is a people person and very good at working with individuals. Her empathetic nature and gentleness make her particularly good at teaching individuals how to use the system. She is also great with the follow-up communications and emails necessary to coordinate the delivery of donations to families in need.
The children are supported by their mom, a Science teacher, who has sought out mentors and contacted the media on their behalf.
ReGame, Inc. was on the news:https://www.cbs17.com/news/loc...
ReGame, Inc. was also in the paper: https://restorationnewsmedia.c...
ReGame, Inc. was also interviewed by Samsung newsroom twice. The interview can be seen here. https://news.samsung.com/us/sa...
We also have a webpage: https://cdenton80.wixsite.com/...
Because of the networking opportunities, we are eager to expand and open chapters in other areas. We continue to do outreach in our own hometown.
We understand the population that we are giving the systems to because they are our classmates. Our middle school is a title 1 school and many of the children do not have gaming systems. We also get used/upcycled items as gifts for Christmas because our mom is a single mom and a teacher, so we are on a limited budget. We became aware of the E-waste problem from a virtual field trip that we took during the pandemic. This is a problem that affects everyone!
We have done a lot of outreach within our communities. We've written letters and done outreach to various organizations that already help people in need to partner with them to get the donations into the hands of the individuals who need them. Over the holidays, we were able to deliver systems to many families. We spoke with the families and even helped set up the systems so they were ready to go on Christmas morning.
We've also spoken at length with individuals from Samsung and received mentorship from engineers and business people at Samsung.
- Other: Addressing an unmet social, environmental, or economic need not covered in the four dimensions above.
- Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in at least one community, which is poised for further growth
Currently, there are very limited options for recycling electronics. In our town Best Buy and Staples are two places where you can drop off electronics for recycling, but many aren't aware of that option. Additionally, these recycled electronics don't go to individuals in need. We hope to create a movement and perhaps spin-offs of ReGame, Inc., perhaps to address the E-waste from cell phones.
We decided to focus our efforts on gaming systems because many individuals upgrade systems with regularity. It is fairly easy to restore iPads, tablets and gaming systems to factory defaults.
While we cannot address the whole problem of E-waste, we decided to pick a small area to focus on in hopes of inspiring others to follow suit. If enough of us make small impacts in the problem, it can lead to a big overall impact on the problem of E-waste.
Our ultimate goal is that all working electroncs could be recycled through a company like ReGame and given to those in need. Non-working electronics could be salvaged for parts or given to Electronic Waste Recycling factories.
We have already teamed up with individuals from two other areas in our state in NC. They are urging their communities to donate any systems to ReGame and we hope to spread our reach beyond our small corner of Eastern NC. In our first year, we were able to keep 50 systems out of the landfill. In our second year, we hope to double that number.
ReGame, Inc. uses technology in many ways. Firstly, we are working with electronic products (tablets, gaming systems etc.). We use a website to spread awareness of our solution and to communicate with donors and with those receiving donations. We also use technology (voltmeters, soldering irons, 3D printers) to repair the systems to working order. We sanitize everything using UV lights before handing it to the new owners.
- Crowd Sourced Service / Social Networks
- Materials Science
This year, we were able to donate 50 systems. While it is difficult to know an exact number of individuals directly impacted by the receipt of all of the systems, we estimate about 200 individuals regularly benefit from the systems we have recycled. In the next year, we hope to double the number of systems we give out and double our impact on the individuals in our community.
Currently, the biggest limit is that we've given out all of our gaming systems. We are working to develop a partnership with Samsung for their used tablets in hopes of a steady stream of systems coming into ReGame. Additionally, we are three kids and we run this non-profit out of our home. We have school responsibilities, so our time is limited. We are focused on growing our business and outreaching to secure more donations as well as get in contact with families who would benefit from the gaming systems.
We are a 501(3)c non-profit and have filled out all the tax forms already. We would like to be able to pay to ship systems to us from donors as well as pay to ship systems out to non-local families who want to receive a system.
We have been interviewed by the Samsung News Room and they have shared about Regame, Inc. through their website. We've also been featured in our local newspaper.
Key Resources: Donated gaming systems and tablets
Partners+Key Stakeholders: Samsung (as a donation source), Local organizations that serve low-income populations
Key Activities: Restore and repair donations of gaming systems and tablets. Give them to organizations and individuals in need.
Type of Intervention: Working, restored gaming systems and tablets.
Channels: Website, local newspapers and news stations, networking at Science conferences, Samsung Newsroom
Cost Structure: currently the only cost has been the cleaning supplies, solder and 3D printing filament. Completely run by volunteer hours. We would like to expand to be able to cover shipping of donated gaming systems and shipping of the systems to the families in need.
Surplus: We do not have a surplus. If there were monetary donations, we would use them to pay for cleaning supplies and shipping.
Revenue: There is no revenue from the company. The systems are given to those in need free-of-charge.
Segments: Organizations that serve individuals in need as well as specific families who receive the gaming systems. The donors receive a tax-deductible write-off.
Value Proposition: Impact measured from feedback from recipients and from donors. Additionally, numbers of systems that have been upcycled and kept out of landfills provides data.
As we scale up, we hope to partner with tech companies to fund the repair costs. We will also depend on individual donations of systems. As we expand, we hope to get volunteers from high school to do the bulk of the outreach and repair work. High school students are often required to have volunteer hours as a requirement to graduate. This is an excellent way to have students invest in their own local communities.
