Embargoed until 00:01 Thursday 4 August 2022
Virgin Media O2 and Hubbub’s Tech Fund helps charities provide tablets and data to people in need • Hubbub and Virgin Media O2 announce the grant winners of the ‘Tech Lending Community Fund’ • Fund set up to tackle digital isolation and e-waste Environmental charity Hubbub and Virgin Media O2 are announcing the five charities which have received a share of £400,000 to run a pioneering device lending scheme to provide tablets and data to people who need them. Grants between £55,000 and £83,000 have been made to five organisations across the UK who provide crucial support to groups such as women seeking refuge from domestic violence, refugees, asylum seekers and people at risk of homelessness. The five charities are Thames Reach; Kurdish and Middle Eastern Women’s Organisation; Willowacre Trust; Refuge; and Leeds Refugee Forum. Between them they will provide more than 1,000 tablets to people living in temporary accommodation and who are digitally excluded. The tablets will be powered by free O2 mobile data provided by the National Databank, set up by Virgin Media O2 and digital inclusion charity, Good Things Foundation. The tablets and data will help people to improve their digital skills, and to access essential services such as healthcare appointments, mental health support, training courses, and to apply for jobs and to take part in virtual interviews. The grant fund is also supported by Amazon which is providing an additional £100,000 to support the running costs of the lending hubs. The Tech Lending Scheme also supports the circular economy by rehoming tablets with people who need them, giving them a second life so they can be lent again and again, and prevents them from ending up in landfill as e-waste.