Titan Partnership is continuing to raise money to purchase computers for children in Birmingham who do not have devices to access remote learning at home and Wesleyan financial services has boosted the fundraising by a massive donation of a further £50,000.
Wesleyan's incredibly generous donation comes at a pivotal time as teachers and pupils adapt to these new ways of working. This donation will make a huge difference to many children. I am delighted that, with Wesleyan's ongoing support, we will continue to provide devices for children and families most in need. - Titan Partnership CEO, Carolyn Chapman-Lees
When lockdown began in March 2020, a study carried out by Titan amongst its members revealed that more than 1000 children, in some of Birminghams most deprived areas did not have access to suitable devices or the internet at home. So, Titan started a fundraising campaign to raise £200,000 to buy around 1000 devices. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, so too has the need for devices and we continue to support as many students as possible across our member schools.
Titan Partnership CEO, Carolyn Chapman-Lees, says:
The Coronavirus crisis continues to cause unprecedented challenges for our schools and highlights the invisible barrier to learning and attainment caused by tech poverty. As a charity, we work to transform the lives of young people, unlock their potential and realise their aspirations.
However, many children are currently unable to access the online resources being used by schools to maintain an appropriate level of learning during this crisis.
Schools are not only facing an unprecedented demand to engage students through online learning but also the added pressure of ensuring that their students can access these resources.
The Computers For Children campaign works independently of measures from the Government and will focus on all age groups across primary and secondary schools in the Titan network.
Thanks to previous donations, we have delivered 84 Lenovo ThinkPads and 65 Google Chromebooks to the schools in our network. We are now looking to purchase and distribute a further 200 plus devices.
The devices have come into their own during this lockdown. They have enabled us to allow classes of children to access the live learning sessions from their class teacher. Without them, they would not access the live sessions. - Ashley Winters, Headteacher at Brownmead Academy
As we receive donations, we continue to purchase further devices and deliver these to our schools. Thank you to all who have donated for helping us to support our schools and ensure that Birmingham's young people who are most in need can continue to access their learning and school support network.
I love the fact that I can use the computer to listen to my teacher and see my friends - Student
We would like to thank Antser & JW European for each donating an amazing £3,000, CW Jobs UK for their generous £2000 donation as well as Aston University, Millennium Point Trust, UHY Hacker Young and Zen Educate for supporting our campaign.
Special thanks go to to Wesleyan for their original donation of £15,000 which kick-started the campaign and to National Grid for donating our first batch of laptops.
If you would like to make a corporate donation or donate any old devices, please contact Mark Hill: mark.hill@titan.org.uk . You can also call us on 0121 607 1930.
The Titan Partnership is a unique education charity working with Primary and Secondary Schools, FE Colleges, Universities and Private Training Providers across Birmingham. With a focus on inclusion, diversity, skills and employability we are addressing the challenges and priorities of our members. By working with employers and key partners across the city, we are transforming the lives of young people, unlocking their potential and raising aspirations.
Also, through our specialist Teacher Training Programmes we are supporting schools to recruit and retain the very best teachers and leaders of tomorrow. Social justice is at the heart of everything we do.
For further information please visit www.titan.org.uk
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