EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- An East Hartford couple is working to provide a lifeline between injured members of the military and their families.

Phil and Kathy Drouin are using their computer expertise to help run Laptops For The Wounded.

"What we do is we rebuild laptops or buy laptops. We equip them with webcams, all the anti-virus, anti-spyware and get these all ready and deliver them to various military hospitals for the wounded troops to use to stay in touch with their families, with their loved ones, while they're recuperating from battle wounds," Phi Drouin said.

The Drouins both work in the computer field in Connecticut. Phil Drouin served in the Air Force and said he knew that he wanted to get involved with the charity as soon as he read about it in a military magazine.

"He said to me, 'Here's my cause. You know, this is what I can do.' He's been injured himself in the military years ago," Kathy Drouin said.

The couple traveled to the Walter Reed Medical Center last weekend and has delivered more than a dozen laptops that are being used by injured soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen.

Kathy Druin said that at any point, the couple will have five or six computers in different stages of assembly in their living room.

They spend hours rebuilding the computers.

Lee and John Sirotnak, of Southington, said they are strong supporters of the Drouins' efforts.

"I came here to donate three laptops to Laptops For The Wounded," Lee Sirotnak said.

The couple said their son, Frank, is a Marine who returned safely from Iraq a few weeks ago after spending months overseas.

"We can't imagine being far away from our son who might be in a hospital and not be able to see him and speak to him, so this is a wonderful program," Lee Sirotnak said. "They're (the Drouins) heroes not just to our heroes -- our troops -- but also to their families."

Kathy Drouin said the charity has received a bit of a boost from Connecticut businesses, including the company where she works -- Open Solutions in Glastonbury.

"We're contributing our time and some of our hardware to this cause for the military and their families," said Louis Hernandez, CEO of Open Solutions.

Hernandez said technical employees of the company have volunteered expertise.

"Whatever Kathy needs -- you know, put in software, install anything -- make sure they run correctly," said Corwyn Fabian of the company.

The Drouins said that they are always looking for donations for their cause.

"I can have 100 laptops, but if I have no money to rebuild them, we have 100 paperweights," Phil Drouin said.

While the couple said monetary donations are the most useful, they also accept laptop donations but said they must be relatively up-to-date with today's technology.

"We'd like the minimum processor to be at least 750 megahertz," Phil Drouin said.

Kathy said the charity is also looking for volunteers.

"We want to set a reasonable time to deliver these laptops and just Phil and I doing it, that, you know, we work full-time -- it would be awesome to have volunteers," she said.

For more information about Laptops For The Wounded and how to make a donation, visit the charity's Web site.

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