by: Maggie Newland
Posted: / Updated:
WILSON, N.C. (WNCN) — If your family found new video games or gaming systems under the Christmas tree, don’t get rid of your old ones. Some local siblings can put them to good use.
To some people, they’re trash, but to Elijah, Lydia, and Bethany Denton, old electronics are a chance to help someone else.
The siblings recently created a nonprofit called ReGame.
“The purpose of ReGame is to take old consoles, old games, old electronic devices and fix them up and give them to somebody who’s going to use it,” explained Elijah, 15. “The ‘Re’ in ReGame is reduce, reuse, recycle, so that’s our mission.”
Bethany, 11, explained that many of her friends never think about what happens to gaming systems once they’re finished with them.
The siblings wanted to find a solution when they realized how many electronics Americans throw away. They say they’re in the process of registering ReGame as a nonprofit organization.
They accept various types of donated items.
“We’ve received games, consoles, electronics, tablets,” noted Lydia, 13.
“Most of the time they are in great working condition, just need a little cleanup,” added Elijah. “In the off chance they need fixing, we have a soldering iron, and we have the tools to fix them ourselves.”
If you’re wondering how the middle and high schoolers know how to fix electronics, they say they learned online.
“There are a ton of YouTube tutorials and we actually have an engineer who is our friend down the road who has helped us,” said Elijah.
Once the devices are as good as new, or close to it, the siblings will donate them to others.
“You can apply if you are a foster parent and want it for your foster kids, Ronald McDonald houses, any place can apply to get them,” said Lydia.
If you want to learn more about how to donate games or gaming systems, or how to apply for them, click here.
