Our achievements
At Sustainable Tech 4 Good, as we near the end of 2023, we are delighted that to date we have reached over 5,700 people with devices for digital inclusion, while saving over 9,500kg of e-waste and more than 1.2m kg of CO2. We have now worked with a network of 88 different organisations to target help to people who need it most… and we could not achieve this without tech from the many businesses that support us.
A new look
We have now consolidated what we do under Sustainable Tech 4 Good, offering 4 Data Secure Sustainable solutions for 2024, covering devices, server & networking. All our solutions promote digital inclusion and sustainability. Visit www.SustainableTech4Good.co.uk to learn more and join the digital inclusion revolution!
Some groups we’ve helped this year
We have worked with so many different organisations that it is impossible to feature them all here. We cover a very wide demographic of need – digital inclusion cuts across all parts of society, and technology can be used in many different ways to help people in need. Our biggest reward comes from the feedback we get about how the devices we provide are improving people’s lives. The below gives a flavour of some groups we support:
Support for children
Our work started with supporting education during lockdowns, and support for children continues to be at the core of what we do. The work that some of our partner charities do is very humbling, and is vital to help children have a better future.
We have been delighted to continue to work with KidsOut this year, who support children in refuges who have had to flee domestic abuse. Two of our staff, Denise and Steve, helped out with preparing Christmas boxes at KidsOut recently, and we also look forward to working closely next year with their new CEO, Sara Williams to expand our work together.
“So looking forward to working with Sue and the team at Laptops4Learning collaborating more in 2024 helping more and more disadvantaged children.” – Sarah Williams, CEO KidOut
Cambridge Acorn Project supports children and families who have experienced various forms of trauma. We have been able to provide tech for staff, and also to support a project to help process trauma and anxiety in children.
“We'll be using these tablets in schools in a project using Tetris to help process trauma and anxiety, and we couldn't do it without the tech.”
“Thank you Laptops4Learning for such valuable support, it really does make a different to the support we can give to children and families!” – Cambridge Acorn Project
Embrace provides both practical and emotional support for children who have been harmed by crime, so essential to aiding recovery and being able to move on with life.
“Thank-you so much for the tablets, they will make such a difference to the children we support.” – Emma, Embrace
Support for Refugees
With many conflicts across the world, refugees continue to arrive in the UK, and they need support to integrate and try to rebuild their lives. Having a digital device helps with education, communication and access to services to help make this possible.
We have continued to work closely with Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign, who do fantastic work supporting refugees arriving in Cambridgeshire.
“CRRC is very proud of the work we have undertaken in supplying free devices to Ukrainian arrivals and, latterly, to Afghan and Sudanese families fleeing repressive regimes and civil war.
None of this would have been possible without the strong relationship we have developed with Laptops 4 Learning. We know from the messages of thanks we receive that this service has made a huge difference to many hundreds of lives across the county.” - Catharine and Adrian, Trustees of Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign
Conversation over Borders works to bring together forcibly displaced people with the wider community where they find themselves. We are delighted to have been able to support this work, and they have kindly sent us some comments from the recipients of the tech:
"I am so grateful to the organisation who gave me the tablet, it will help me a lot. This will help me to continue learning English and will create lots of opportunities"
"I am very happy that there is an organization that works so faithfully for refugees. thank you very much. You sent me a tablet that I will never forget. I use this tablet to talk to English teachers and watch English movies to learn English as soon as possible. I really needed it"
Support for Homeless
With the cold of winter at this time of year, it is hard to imagine what it must be like to be homeless and sleeping rough. Organisations, such as It Takes a City and Jimmy’s Cambridge, who work with the homeless are so important to this vulnerable group of people, and we are very pleased to be able to support their work.
"Whether distributed to those staying at our Crossways winter provision, at which we accommodate individuals who have recently been rough sleeping in Cambridge, or to those that we support in longer term accommodation, the devices donated by Laptops4Learning are invaluable.” – Chris Dade,
Support Overseas
While the majority of our work is in the UK, we have also been able to provide support to some overseas projects this year. Currently a team from Cellusys are on an epic trip driving right through Africa, accomplishing some great things on the way. We were delighted to be able to provide tablets for a coding school being set up in Ivory Coast, to give young people the opportunity to learn coding as a route to a new career and improving their life chances.
“Thanks Susan. Your tech kit is being readied for deployment in Accra right now. Sincere thanks again” - Nick Redmayne, journalist on trip
We were particularly pleased to be able to support the United Bulawayo Hospitals/Association of Breast Surgery Partnership which is working to improve breast cancer outcomes in one of the most deprived areas of Zimbabwe. The tech we have provided enables the online transmission, remote reporting and storage of breast ultrasound images, which reduces the often long delays patients experience before any treatment can be started.
“…wonderful news that Laptops4Learning will be donating 3 laptops and 3 tablets to the Bulawayo/Matabeleland South Breast Cancer Project…. Please express our sincere thanks to all …who have made this special gift possible.” - Dick Rainsbury, on behalf of the United Bulawayo Hospitals/Association of Breast Surgery Partnership
Looking forwards
The above gives a small flavour of what we have been doing this year; there are just too many things to mention! So many different groups need help, such as working with Trailblazers to help stop re-offending, and with Cambridgeshire County Council supporting care-leavers.
We look forward to 2024 bringing many more opportunities to bring digital inclusion to improve the lives of people in need. We will seek to expand our work in the south west with organisations such as Swansea MAD and EYST, as well as in Cumbria, where I recently met in Whitehaven with the Chief Executive of Digital Unite and other local stakeholders, looking at how we can collectively extend digital inclusion in the county. And as already mentioned, we are very much looking forward to scaling up our work with KidsOut in 2024.
A very big thank you to all the businesses who have supported us with their surplus tech this year – without you, none of what we do would be possible – we look forward to working further with you next year and together achieving even more!
Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
Best Wishes from ~ Sue and the incredible Sustainable Tech 4 Good Team.