Our Digitally Disconnected programme worked to provide local families and children with computers and devices to help them with homework
When? 2020 – 2021
Working with: CYC The Hangout youth club. VANEL. Reynolds Family Hub.
Donated devices from: JCS Fish
Through the Big Local North Cleethorpes Digitally Disconnected programme we looked into ways to donate recycled laptops to local older residents to get them online. However, there was a large skills and knowledge gap with older people to overcome first which with our resources we were not best placed to support. Luckily other local organisations such as Friendship at Home were in a position with funded projects to provide equipment such as tablets and to directly and intensively support local older people.
Instead, we quickly discovered during Covid around 2020 and 2021 that local school children who were being taught from home were often struggling to get online or get the right access to their lessons. We were hearing stories of families sharing one mobile phone for the children to do their lessons. Or one laptop shared between three children. When the ‘free’ computers provided to families during Covid were withdrawn, families were still trying to do homework online but now without the right equipment.
We worked with Reynolds Family Hub to identify families who were suffering these problems. Big Local North Cleethorpes purchased a small number of Chromebooks, but we also took in a number of unused laptops from VANEL, from local residents, and from some local businesses (including JCS Fish). We then refurbished these laptops – often converting them to Chromebooks – and then provided them to the identified families and children.
Close to twenty families and their children were supported in this way.
