One solution could be volunteer at a recycler that installs/provide a GNU/Linux with their system.
eg. years ago I volunteered at https://www.computerbank.org.au/ where different organizations & locals (companies weren't allowed to dispose of electrical equipment as hardwaste, so giving/selling it to recyclers is common in the city) would remove drives (dban them), check out hardware, recycle the stuff that wasn't any good, and rebuild what was left.
The newer boxes would be sold to anyone who wanted it, and very cheaply to folks with pension or equivalent cards.
When I first was there, we installed Debian (this was before the Ubuntu project had even started; ~1998), though later it was Ubuntu. The Ubuntu install included Ubuntu-MATE and whatever the Ubuntu Desktop was at the time (ie. a multi-desktop install; MATE was always suggested for the less powerful devices).
There were some classes offered should people haven't ever used any computer before, but those are fewer now. The Ubuntu has also since been replaced by Linux Mint.
Another option even closer to home (ie. Ubuntu MATE) is to help out with Quality Assurance testing... ie.
You're a few days late for the Ubuntu MATE 24.04.3 QA testing; but that would have been really useful, as I was the only person who is listed as testing the Release Candidate, and my time is limited anyway.
If you're doing install testing; installing systems is all you're doing anyway!!