South Swindon MP Sir Robert Buckland is delighted to announce that Nationwide Building Society has handed over a cheque worth £2K to Swindon charity Threshold, as part of his ongoing Laptops for Local Schools and Charities Campaign.
Sir Robert began the successful laptop campaign back in January 2021, to run alongside the Government’s ‘Get Help with Technology Scheme.’
The green initiative calls for local people and businesses to donate unused laptops so that these can be refurbished and donated.
Local businesses, SP Computers and Excalibur Communications have been very generously taking in donated devices since the scheme began and refurbishing these ready for school children and local charities to use.
Since the scheme began, over a hundred laptops have been donated to schools across the town and many local charities have also benefitted from donated devices, including Swindon’s Neuro Wellbeing Centre, Voluntary Action Swindon, The Harbour Centre, The Shop in Park South, and many more.
Following a meeting between Swindon-based business Nationwide and Sir Robert Buckland MP, the company, who lease laptops for their workers, decided to get involved with the scheme by making a £2K donation to a local charity to purchase new laptops.
Rachel Smith, Social Investment Senior Manager at Nationwide said:
“At Nationwide, we were delighted to be able to give this donation to Threshold for the purchase of laptops. Every year we commit 1% of our pre-tax profits to good causes, with our social investment activity focused on helping those in housing need.
“Helping Threshold to improve the lives of their service users in our home town of Swindon, as a part of Sir Robert Buckland’s scheme was a natural fit.”
Michael Keenan, Threshold's Chief Executive said:
“Increasingly, services are accessed and delivered via online platforms and yet the overwhelming majority of our residents don’t even have access to smart phones let alone tablets or laptops. Not having access to the internet precludes them from therapeutic, training, and essential services they could make use of or must rely upon to fulfil treatment orders, for example.
“We are therefore most grateful to Nationwide and Sir Robert Buckland's office for facilitating this donation which will allow us to purchase discounted IT equipment which will advance the life-enhancing access to online services that our many service users would otherwise struggle to obtain.”
Michael further stated
“While the new IT and the appropriate software systems this donation will allow us to purchase will make a powerful and positive difference, the charity would still benefit enormously from further donations of working second-hand laptops, tablets and old mobile phones, which will all be deployed to improve connectivity and support service users who can best make use of access to online support and therapeutic interventions, as well as training and people should contact Threshold directly if they wish to donate such items”.
Speaking about his successful ongoing local laptop campaign Sir Robert Buckland MP said:
“After speaking to Nationwide Building Society CEO Debbie Crosbie about my ongoing scheme during a recent meeting, I am delighted that this Swindon-based business has decided to become involved.
“Threshold is a wonderful local charity, and this donation will enable them to purchase the laptops that they need to set up their new IT-based therapeutic intervention area.
“Since Threshold was first established in 1972, the charity has worked tirelessly, supporting thousands of local people, and helping them to create a better life and independence.
“Along with Nationwide, I am looking forward to visiting Threshold again, once the new IT area is up and running.”
If you have an unused laptop that you would like to donate to Sir Robert’s local scheme, or if you run a local business and you would like to make a donation as part of this project, please get in touch by emailing [email protected] or ringing 01793 533393
