Last summer local BBC radio stations helped members of the public donate thousands of old laptops and tablets for school children to use across England.
With schools now closed again, we wanted to do our bit by getting involved and helping out those families in need. We’re all facing such challenging times in this current climate and for those pupils that can’t access virtual learning because they don’t own laptops, computers or tablets during lockdown, is just another worry and stress we’d like to try and take care of.
We heard about the ‘Make a Difference/Give a laptop scheme’ on the Phil Upton Breakfast Morning show of CWR and got in contact to see how we could get involved.
Radio Presenter, Trish Adudu, invited Sky Blues in the Community onto the show and put us in touch with Phil ’The Speedy Bear’ who cleans electrical devices and donates them to schools. We donated a number of our spare laptops and iPads and offered to work with The Speedy Bear to deliver the now sparkly clean donations to schools in need across Coventry and Warkwickshire. With Schools such as, Lillington, Howes, Binley Woods, All Saints of Nuneaton and Canon Park to name a few.
The Speedy Bear has recently confirmed that they have now refurbished and donated over 100 laptops, desktop and tablets to schools in our community - with more to follow!
Dave Busst, Head of Sky Blues in the Community commented “We’re extremely pleased to have the opportunity to get involved in such a worthwhile cause. The benefits these generous donations will have on schools and families across our community are immeasurable. Knowing that we’re giving pupils the opportunity to continue learning and the chance to access our virtual assemblies whilst we continue to stay in lockdown is a great feeling”.
Perhaps you have an old laptop, tablet or mobile phone lying around collecting dust? Donating these can seem a small gesture to some but make a huge difference to a family in need.
Rebecca Bollands, Howes Primary said "We are really grateful to Speedy Bear and Sky Blues in the Community for providing us with laptops. We have been able to help families who would not otherwise have been able to access online learning. This enables the children to continue learning with their class teacher and it also allows them the chance to connect with their friends. This reduces the sense of isolation that many of them feel during this lockdown. The support from Sky Blues and Speedy Bear has been fantastic and it has had a huge impact on our school community”.
Phil from Speedy Bear, said: "I have been overwhelmed with the response so far and the number of laptops, tablets and computers that have been donated which so many children and families are benefiting from the scheme. If people could please continue donate whatever you can can as there are still lots of children and families that are missing out."
If you feel like you could help or would like to get involved in this fantastic initiative to give all pupils the same chance of home schooling, please get in touch today.