Delivering our 500th device

Digital exclusion

We began Computer Delivery when lockdown began, refurbishing donated devices and delivering them to people in Edinburgh and East Lothian experiencing digital exclusion, in partnership with Venture Scotland. The project grew popular quickly, demonstrating the effect that lockdown has had in revealing the prevalence of digital exclusion in our communities.

Thanks to donations and the support of our incredible volunteers, we have been able to deliver 500 devices, and are on track to deliver 1,000 by the end of the year. To mark this special occasion, we invited Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern & Leith, to make the delivery to one of his constituents.

Meeting our Digital Champions

First stop was 525 Ferry Road as Ben Macpherson stopped by to meet our Digital Champions outside our office. These individuals volunteer their time to refurbish and deliver donated devices and provide follow-up phone calls for device set-up and support. Some Digital Champions also take part in our operation of the Connecting Scotland national helpline, offering phone support for people across the country who have received a device from Connecting Scotland. Ben discussed the projects with Digital Champions Paul and Ruairidh, alongside our project coordinator Nigel and Venture Scotland’s CEO David.

The delivery

After coming by our office building, Nigel met Ben Macpherson in Leith, where Marc, our 500th recipient, awaited his delivery of a laptop and keyboard. With the parcel safely in hand, Marc and Ben discussed what life had been like under lockdown in this constituency, including finding access to hot meals in the local area. Marc also mentioned he was excited to open his new device to play games and most importantly to video call friends and family abroad.

Looking towards our 1,000th delivery

Now that we’ve delivered our 500th device it’s onto our next goal of delivering 1,000 devices. After a large donation from HSBC we now have the number of devices we need to meet this next milestone and can’t wait to keep refurbishing, delivering and providing support in the community.

We’d like to thank those who have donated, funded and made this project possible, including individuals and organisations such as Good Things Foundation, National Lottery, University of Edinburgh, HSBC, Change Recruitment Group, Venture Scotland, Inverclyde Community Development Trust, Parabola, The Clothworkers’ Foundation, Scran Academy, Edinburgh Remakery and the Cordis Trust.