New lease of life for Society Laptops
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Published 6 Aug 2024 in Colleagues
What do you do with your old computer when you get a shiny new one? Donate it to charity, of course. Here's how the Swindon Regional Community team gave four old Society laptops a new lease on life for our charity partner, STEP Swindon.
Our Swindon Regional Community (RC) remarkable colleagues came up with a wonderful idea to support their charity partner AND stop older hardware heading to landfill.
When four Society laptops were upgraded to newer models, the Swindon RC team set about searching for a new home for the older pieces of kit that still had life left in them. They discovered that their charity partner, STEP Swindon, was looking for computers to use as part of their work with children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
On STEP’s 40th birthday on 22nd July they hosted a big celebration and we took the opportunity to hand the laptops over to them...
along with a large food donation - processed and delivered by Rana Sidhu, Seb Gee and the team at Old Town Food store. Great work!
Following the donations we received some brilliant feedback from STEP Project Manager Paul Dobson, “We can’t thank you enough for the incredibly generous donation of the four laptops – they really are going to make such a huge difference to our children and young people with Special Educational Needs, allowing them to fully engage in our therapeutic process.”
It’s all about teamwork...
Our IT and Governance teams also played a massive part in doing good together to make this happen. From IT to Legal to Food Operations, Swindon RC Ambassador Adam Quinton shared:
“It’s not always about the money we give to our charity partners, but also how we can put the skills of Your Co-op colleagues to good use. From Snez Naik in IT being able to wipe and reset the laptops then upload a free operating platform in Google Chrome, to Sean McGovern’s legal expertise in writing a legal disclaimer for the handover, so many people have played a part in doing good together for STEP Swindon. Plus, it’s brilliant that we’ve been able to upcycle what would have otherwise become tech waste to make a difference to this amazing charity.”
An example of the work STEP creates
Doing good together where you are? Let us know through Count Me In and you’ll be entered into our monthly prize draw.