David, President of Chess Edinburgh and Lothians, has been finding new ways to support his organisation through digital means thanks to the support of our Reconnect service.
Our Reconnect service provides a range of services to people across Edinburgh and the Lothians. It supports those in need through a national digital support helpline and in-person digital groups, which members can regularly attend for digital support or even just a friendly chat.
Over the winter we took part in Coorie In For Winter in a collaboration with Places for People, Community Renewal and Edinburgh Remakery. Coorie In, created by Health in Mind and Thrive Edinburgh, aimed to provide warm spaces and mental health support to help tackle the challenges that come with the dark and often isolating winter months.
Together with our partners we provided a digital group at Places for People in Craigmillar, offering a warm space where with breakfast, hot drinks and digital support available throughout the winter months. One of our regular attendees was David, who through regular attendance built up the digital skills to strengthen his links within Chess Edinburgh and Lothians.
Conquering the digital world
David began attending our digital groups as a means to help him strengthen his digital knowledge and by extension further support his peers throughout Chess Edinburgh and Lothians.
After an initial chat with one of our Digital & Wellbeing Coordinators, David began to share more about his volunteering background and work with Chess Edinburgh. They helped identify how support via new digital devices would help David promote chess events and reach out to like-minded chess players through options such as social media and WhatsApp.
As a regular attendee of three of our digital groups, we were able to provide David with a laptop thanks to the help of Edinburgh Remakery, and a phone from Good Things Foundation’s National Device Bank.
After receiving his devices David became a regular member of our Coorie In digital group at Places for People in Craigmillar. As a result of support with his digital skills, he has been able to make regular contact with family and friends and install apps that link to his personal interests including chess. The Lothian Bus app has made a significant impact, allowing him to check bus times without the need of being at the bus stop.
His keen interest in developing his digital skills has also led to him exploring new skills he’d never thought of. He regularly takes photos and videos on his journeys into nature, sharing them with group members and coordinators.
Talk of the town
In supporting David since January, we’ve watched him go from strength to strength in his digital skills. He’s been incredibly grateful for our efforts and the impact it’s had on his life, so much so that he has been recommending our digital groups to those he knows who may benefit from similar support.
Most importantly for David, his experience with Reconnect has helped him provide support for those in Chess Edinburgh and Lothians, as he’s now more easily available thanks to his phone, and has found new ways to reach out to like-minded chess players. Supporting David to go one step further, our Digital & Wellbeing Coordinators helped share one of David’s chess competitions with People Know How’s network, which was a great success.
Our digital groups continue to support many amazing individuals like David. We have many located throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians, so if you or someone you know would like a warm welcoming space and a chance to learn something new, we’d love to have you along.