Local computer business gives back 

Upon first walking inside the front door of Dowagiac IT3’s downtown office, one can immediately see the business is not your ordinary computer repair shop.

With messages such as “Chieftain Pride” and “Thanks for keeping it local” hand painted on the walls, there’s an unmistakable Dowagiac flavor to the décor.

But perhaps the heart of what Brian Antisdel’s business is all about lies behind the twin glass doors across from the entrance, with the phrase “advocates for the less fortunate” painted on the bottom. Inside is a collection of old televisions, clothing, food and other items donated to the shop, which is turn are distributed to others throughout the community.

“In my view, it’s not just us giving these things away,” Antisdel said. “It’s the whole community giving to each other.”

Last week, him and a group of around 10 other volunteers gave back to their community in a different (and sweeter) way: by handing out over 300 pies to residents across the city. The deserts were given to the company after one of Antisdel’s friends told him that a shipment of pies were going to be discarded after the warehouse they were stored in had lost power the previous night.

“I love to give, so that was like a blessing to me,” Antisdel said.

The business’ foundation of giving back is born from its owner’s difficult experiences in his younger days. Born in Dowagiac, troubles within in the household he group in forced Antisdel to move out on the home and onto the streets at just 14 years old.

During this period of his life, the teenager stayed at shelters, friends’ homes and even under playground equipment if he needed to. Despite his circumstances, some within the city lent him a hand, whether it was kids giving him stuff taken from their houses or cooks at the Wahoo giving him a free hamburger whenever he came by.

“The community saved me back then,” Antisdel said. “I was homeless, but it felt like I wasn’t homeless.”

He later moved to south, where he studied and worked at the University of Kentucky, learning computer repair, networking and information technology. Over a decade later, he returned to Dowagiac. After overcoming the problems with alcohol that had plagued his life up until them, he decided to give back to city that had been there in his time of need.

“That’s the reason I give, because of my past,” Antisdel said.

Last year, Antisdel and his fiancé, Tammy Care, opened up IT3 near the intersection of Front and Division streets. While offering the typical services one would expect from a computer shop, such as hardware repairs or virus removal, Antisdel and his team also accept donations of broken or unwanted machines, repairing them before donating it someone else in the community.

“If you give, you receive,” Antisdel said. “I really believe in that.”