8,000 pupils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough don’t have suitable equipment or internet access at home, meaning they are unable to benefit from online resources, support from teachers, or even interact with classmates during the pandemic, a survey of schools has found.
Cambridgeshire County Council, Peterborough City Council, Cambridge 2030, the Cambs Youth Panel, Cambridgeshire Digital Partnership, and Cambridgeshire Culture Foundation have launched a campaign to encourage businesses and residents to donate spare laptops or make a financial contribution to purchase new equipment to support young people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who do not have access to a computer or the internet at home.
The target is to ensure every child and young person in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has both the equipment and broadband access they need to maintain their learning at home.
There are two ways individuals and businesses can help.
Give an unwanted laptop
If you have an unwanted laptop you’d be willing to give to help a local child learn, you can drop it off at your local library:
- Cambridgeshire: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/libraries-leisure-culture/libraries/visit-a-library
- Peterborough: https://vivacity-peterborough.com/libraries-archives/your-local-library/
The library will deliver the laptops to the Cambs Youth Panel where all data will be securely wiped in line with guidance provided by the National Cyber Security Centre, before they are repurposed ready for a child or young person to use.
If you would like your laptop to go to a named school or a school in a particular area, add this information when you leave it at the library collection point.
Make a cash donation
If you would like to help in another way, you can make a cash donation to help buy refurbished laptops and 4G routers for internet access for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough children and young people. You can do this quickly and securely online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/cambridgeshire-laptops-for-children