Congleton and Holmes Chapel Co-op stores have launched an appeal in conjunction with Tech4Kidz for the donation of old laptops and tablets to help the town’s young people fully engage with the learning opportunities being offered to them at home.
Alison Wright, local Co-op Member Pioneer said “As we entered this latest lockdown, we very quickly realised that many homes were struggling with not having enough laptops. Although schools reported a very high engagement rate from students, it became clear that many young people are accessing their on-line lessons using their phones or even game consoles.
“Obviously this is not ideal and makes completing any self learning, research, assessments and project work very difficult, and it’s a situation we would like our local community to help with – many of us have upgraded our laptops and tablets, and still have the old hardware at home.”
Members of the public with unwanted laptops or tablets, can donate them to any of the Co-op stores in Holmes Chapel or Congleton. Please take them to the store in a carrier bag complete with chargers, and hand to a member of staff. Or a socially distanced collection can be set up, please call 07881 886176 to arrange.
All the equipment will then be checked by IT Face who will erase any remaining files and data, carry out a factory reset and install the basic software that is required, as well as PAT testing each item to ensure it is safe to use. Co-op Member Pioneers will then liaise with school staff to prioritise the allocation of the donated equipment.
Local companies wishing to donate a stock of redundant equipment are invited to email Alison direct: alison.wright@coop.co.uk
