DANVILLE — Gloria Vance couldn't hold back tears Wednesday when her son Albert got his first computer.

"I'm so happy for him," said Vance, 78, who calls Albert, 42, her "shining light."

A widow who supports herself and her mentally disabled son on Social Security, Vance could not afford to buy Albert a computer, something he's wanted for more than a year after using one for the first time at Crosspoint Human Services where he works five days a week.

"He's a whiz at it," said Vance, who's never had a computer of her own and has no cell phone. Only recently, Vance borrowed an old phone and hooked up a land-line at their one-bedroom apartment at Vermilion House in Danville. Vance sleeps on the couch in their small, cozy living room surrounded by pictures of her children, grandchildren and her late husband, so Albert can have the bedroom.

Vance said she's never been able to give Albert much for Christmas. But she heard about the annual Christmas computer giveaway for low-income individuals and families at WITS Recycling Center, 1507 N. Bowman Ave. in Danville, and decided to apply.

Jane Ferber, operations manager at the nonprofit organization, immediately connected with Gloria's letter explaining how she couldn't afford a computer for her son.

"It was wonderful," Ferber said. "This is what the (giveaway program) is all about."

Vance wrote in her letter:

"I feel bad for my son. I can't get him very much. It would be nice for a Christmas gift. My son was born with partial brain damage, so it makes him a slow learner. But every where he has worked, (they have) said he was excellent worker. He graduated from high school, has a diploma. His boss at Crosspoint taught him about the computer there. He is a whiz on one. I am proud of my son and his accomplishments. I have worked all my life and raised my family of 4 boys and 2 girls. They are good kids. All my boys passed and got diplomas in high school. He doesn't have any games or anything like other boys. I have heart trouble, diabetes. I am 78 years old. I have excellent work record like my son. Christmas is just another day for us because I'm broke."

With no phone, Vance didn't provide a number with the letter, so Ferber had no way to contact Vance to verify her low-income status and let her know Albert would be one of the recipients this year.

Ferber said WITS set aside 100 desktop computers for this year's giveaway and got 79 applications, of which 54 qualified as low-income according to the federal poverty guidelines.

Fortunately, Vance stopped off at the WITS facility to check on her application and learned the good news.

"I went home and cried like a baby," said Vance, who added that Albert has always been so understanding of their situation through all the ups and downs.

Vance and her husband of 42 years raised their six children in Tilton, but in 1990, she lost him to cancer and eventually lost her house, because she couldn't keep up with the payments. Vance said she has worked a lot of jobs through the years to help support their large family, including 16 years as a nurse's aide at Vermilion Manor Nursing Home.

She wanted to surprise her son Wednesday when they went to WITS to get the computer, but Vance said she had to tell Albert on Tuesday so he could write a note to his boss at Crosspoint, explaining why he wouldn't be at work the next day. She said Albert was so excited.

"He couldn't wait to get here; we had to come early," Vance said as WITS staff were showing Albert the basics of his new desktop computer. "He deserves everything he gets. He's a wonderful boy. I'm so proud of him."

After playing around with it a bit, Albert said he's excited to get Internet access so he can watch old movies and television shows like "The Rifleman" on his computer and do some writing, too. Vance said he writes a lot of short stories, just making them up on his own.

"It's real nice," Albert said with a grin. "I was surprised."

WITS recycles and refurbishes electronics, computers and surplus equipment from individuals and businesses. In addition to its Christmas computer giveaway, the nonprofit organization also has a year-round program in which people can volunteer 65 hours at the WITS facility to earn a desktop computer. For more information on WITS or its Christmas giveaway program, go to http://www.witsinc.org.