A small group of repair pros, drivers, translators, and donors. Working with refugee families since 2022.

When refugee families arrive in the Bay Area or Sacramento, they often lack the most basic household appliances: a refrigerator, a washing machine, a microwave. Buying new ones is far out of reach in the first months.

Tech Aid for Refugees is a registered 501(c)(3) public nonprofit (EIN 93-3707362) operating out of the workshop of ADRIUM Service Solutions. We take donated appliances, repair and restore them in our shop, and deliver them free of charge to families who need them. US donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations. You can verify our 501(c)(3) status on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.

How this started

The project grew out of a single observation. ADRIUM Service Solutions is a licensed appliance repair workshop in San Ramon, where Andrei Kuznetsov, the founder, spent years fixing dishwashers and refrigerators for Bay Area homeowners. Around 2022, as Ukrainian families began arriving in Sacramento and the East Bay, it became clear that one bottleneck for resettlement was as practical as it was invisible: there was no way for newly-arrived families to acquire basic household appliances at any price they could afford in their first few months.

The workshop already had the technicians, the diagnostic equipment, the parts inventory, and the truck. What was missing was a structured way to channel donated appliances (many of which only needed a $20 part to be restored to good condition) to families who needed them. So Tech Aid for Refugees started as a side-of-desk effort: collect, repair, deliver, repeat. By December 2023 the project had grown enough to formalize, and the IRS granted 501(c)(3) public-charity status with EIN 93-3707362.

When a donated item isn’t a good fit for any family on our list, we sell it at fair market value and direct every dollar to humanitarian programs supporting Ukrainian refugees. No salaries. No overhead skim. Just repair, deliver, support.

How you can help

• Donate an appliance you no longer use (broken is fine; we can often repair it). Email [email protected].
• Spread the word: share #techaidforrefugees with anyone who might have an appliance to donate or who might know a family in need.
• Volunteer with us as a driver, repair apprentice, or translator. See open roles.
• Donate financially; covers parts, fuel, and the occasional U-Haul. PayPal.

We don’t try to be everything to everyone. We do one thing (put working appliances in the hands of families who need them) and we try to do it well.