FUNDRAISING UPDATE: WE DID IT!

In September 2021, Success4All embarked on a fundraising challenge to raise £30,000 to help bridge the digital divide in the North East of England, and now it’s time to provide you with a fundraising update.

At the start of the campaign, we pledged to:

• Donate 60 new laptops to families who were digitally excluded
• Connect 60 households to the internet
• Deliver IT workshops to 30 parents/guardians

In September 2022, thanks to your support and generosity, we reached our fundraising target.

It has now been 7 months since we reached our goal, and we are delighted to announce that we have donated all 60 new laptops to families with school-aged children who did not have access to a digital device.

We have also connected 22 households to the internet and by September 2023 we will reach our pledge of connecting 60 households to the internet.

Once we have connected 60 households to the internet, we will embark on our third promise, to deliver our IT workshops to 30 parents/guardians.

The 6-week workshops are currently planned to take place over the 2023/24 academic year and will be delivered in-house by our trainer, Stella.

The workshops will equip parents/guardians with the tools they need to support their children’s learning, as well as their own.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach our target. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to support all the families that we have.

It’s not just us who would like to thank you, our families would also like to share a message with you in recognition of your support.

MESSAGE FROM OUR FAMILIES

A message from single parent, Veronic, who is seeking sanctuary in the North East with her child:

“I have been struggling a lot without WiFi so getting this free WiFi from Success4All is going to help me a lot. It will help my son with his school work and even me to connect with other people, so I am really grateful that I have this opportunity to get it from Success4All. I just want to say thank you very much. I am so grateful.”

A message from single parent, Claire*:

“My son is 11 years old and does not have access to a laptop. My son’s wish is to have a Chromebook to help with his homework and studies. It is vital that education is provided for all, no matter where they live or the wages they bring in. Education means power and success, and every child and adult wanting to get on in life with a new job/ career should be given the chance to do this. It should not always be for wealthy and privileged people. The internet should be made available to everyone now, especially school-aged children. It seems so unfair.”

A message from mum of three, Cynthia*:

“During lockdown, we only have one computer but I have three children and they had classes on the same day and at the same time. I had to choose who attended their lesson. Then I had to help them change the passwords and the login details. It was so difficult. I am so thankful to have Success4All here to support me and my children with a laptop but also with tutoring support.”

A message from Diana’s stepdad:

“We are from Ukraine and have fled the war seeking a safe stay in the UK. We are moving into a new house where Diana, our daughter, would not have access to a device that she can use for her learning. Before, she was using my phone and data which is very restricted. This donation will help Diana study, find resources on the internet, and learn things online, especially English, which is very important for her at this point to communicate.”

A message from single parent Mohida who recently cancelled her broadband connection due to the rising cost of living:

“I just cancelled my internet in October because the prices went so high. Having to tie myself into a contract long term was hard to decide with the heating going up, bills going, and food bills going up, so I had to choose to let go of the internet. She has been struggling with homework as most of it is online. We have been having to do it at Mum’s house so now we can do it at home. This will really help with her homework. I’m a lone parent, so it’s hard.”

A message from 18-year-old Veino:

“I would like to express my gratitude to Success4All for the support with laptop and internet services to pursue my school career. I came from Namibia on asylum with my parents and brother age 6. This will be beneficial to me and my brother’s education, as well as for my entire family. We are grateful. Without Technology, we cannot achieve our dreams in the modern world.”

A message from mum of two, Olena, who is seeking sanctuary in the North East:

“The internet will help my children and me learn. We were using my phone data, but it finishes quickly.”

A message from mum of four, Lauren*:

“Being able to have this amazing opportunity to receive the Chromebook will make such a difference in our household. Our oldest son, who no longer lives at home, never had an opportunity like this when he was younger, and neither did our oldest daughter, who still lives at home. However, our youngest daughter who has just gone into Year 7 and our 7-year-old will benefit from this immensely.

“During covid and still, currently, we have to all share an old laptop that doesn’t have an up to date software to do homework and other day-to-day stuff. I also need to use it (laptop) for work sometimes, so this, for us will make a massive difference, especially for the kids to do their homework.

“Maisie is so excited about it, as she says she won’t have to wait for her turn to have the laptop to do homework, so no more arguments with her little bother… well not as much.

“Thank you so much for this opportunity. It’s going to help and support the kids.”

Once again, on behalf of our team, the children, young people and the families we support, THANK YOU!

* To respect the wishes of our families, we have changed some identifying details.