Local school kids benefit from fund-raising for laptops

Our photos (above and below) show pupils at Birch Copse school using devices provided by the “Laptops for Lockdown Learning fund”, which Kennet Radio helped with its “Ray of Hope” appeal. The images have been provided by the school through Greenham Trust.

In the two months since Greenham Trust launched the ‘Laptops for Lockdown Learning’ fund with a £250,000 initial contribution, £392,680 has been raised and £246,220 disbursed to provide 1,202 laptops for 36 schools. This is a huge achievement in such a short space of time. Hosted on The Good Exchange, Greenham Trust has matched every £1 of donations made to the appeal.

Helen Bowsher, of The Willows Primary School Parents, Teachers and Friends Association, said:

We are so thankful for the help provided by the Laptops for Lockdown fund. The money we received enabled us to provide much-needed IT equipment to families that could not previously access our online learning platform. The laptops will have a long-term positive impact as they will be used, once the children are back in school, for both our computing lessons and within our wider curriculum. Therefore, the whole school will benefit. Once again many thanks to everyone involved in the scheme from The Willows Primary.

As we enter into a post-lockdown hybrid schooling model, it is expected that technology will have a vital role to play so it is important that we continue to support disadvantaged children who still do not have access to the technology they need.

Speaking about this and the success of the appeal, Chris Boulton, CEO, Greenham Trust, said:

We were delighted to be able to help so many schools and schoolchildren in West Berkshire through our Laptop campaign which was also strongly supported by other local charitable trusts and the general public. We are now working with schools and the local authority to explore how the Trust and the local charitable sector might be able to help with further technology needs in schools and assistance with missed learning due to the impact of COVID 19 alongside funding that is being made available by central government.

Greenham Trust is still fundraising to help children and young people in West Berkshire and north Hampshire impacted by school and bubble closures, interrupted education and lack of access to resources. Please visit https://thegoodexchange.com/laptops if you would like to donate or fundraise.