Has your old computer or phone ever frustrated you to the point where you wished you could smash it to pieces? A Lakeland IT company is allowing people to do just that and do it to help raise money for a local charity.
Alltek Services is hosting its inaugural Alltek Smashathon, benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of Polk County, on Thur. July 22, at 5 pm. Hosted at Yard on the Mass in Lakeland, the outdoor event will allow participants to smash up old computers, phones, and other electronic equipment.
For the low admission fee of $10 and a signed waiver, attendees will be allowed to destroy old electronics using a baseball bat. For an additional $10, they can upgrade their weapon to a sledgehammer or a special “mystery weapon.”
The main event is open for participants 18 years and older. Younger attendees will have their fun in the kid’s zone with bounce houses and other fun activities. Food trucks will also be parked on-site to provide food and drink.
The destruction will be confined into two tents: a regular tent to allow attendees to unleash their destruction in private and a transparent tent to enable them to showcase their carnage to onlookers.
Alltek Services will provide all equipment, though participants are encouraged to bring along their old unused tech. The destroyed electronics will then be collected and recycled by Urban Recycling.
“This is a green way to recycle [old equipment],” said Taher Ahmid, Vice President of Business Development. “So they can smash up technology, and who doesn’t want to do that?…I am excited about the event. We have a lot of people starting to register. We already raised $600. So, I think it will be a success.”
Ahmid started his career at Alltek Services five years ago as an intern. He has since risen through the ranks to his current position as Vice President of Business Development. Being creative and philanthropic for the company is one of his favorite parts about his job, he said.
Last year, he and his team remade a scene from the movie “Office Space,” where they took a printer outside and beat it up with a baseball bat. One of their clients commented on the video, saying they would pay good money to do something like that.
“As soon as they said that, I thought we had to do that; we have to do an event like that,” Ahmid said.
Proceeds from the event will go towards benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of Polk County. The non-profit organization had been a longstanding client of Alltek Services, so they seemed to be the most likely candidate to receive their charitable proceeds, Ahmid said.
“The goal of the event is to get as many people as possible because that is how we raise money for the Boys & Girls Club,” he said. “We are not getting any money for the actual equipment, but the [ticket] you buy for the event or the donation is what is going to the Boys & Girls Club.”
Alltek Smashathon will be held on Thurs. July 22 from 5 pm to 9 pm. The event will be hosted at The Yard On Mass, located at 802 North Massachusetts Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801. For more info, visit their website at: https://alltekservices.com/