PCrefurb
PCrefurb helps people who are digitally excluded because they don’t have access to the internet, or who lack the skills or confidence to navigate the internet safely, or cannot afford a device or connectivity. The charity has a clear service model:
- Refurbishing donated IT equipment and redistributing to those in greatest need. Clients are referred by one of the charity’s 80 partner organisations across the High Peak of Derbyshire and Greater Manchester, including job centres, probation services, women’s refuges and social prescribers.
- Providing free SIM cards as a member of the National Digital Inclusion Network
- Running digital skills training in six venues across Glossop and Tameside and in people’s homes if they are housebound
Funding from the Garfield Weston Foundation has been vital in ensuring our sustainability this financial year. Gaining core funding without overbearing restrictions has been wonderful and helped ensure the continuation of our central operations, enabling us to continue our mission to bring the benefits of the digital world to those currently excluded.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the digital divide and PCrefurb has continued to see a rise in demand for its services. PCrefurb’s application included compelling case studies that demonstrated the impact of its work and clearly set out its anticipated income and expenditure so we could see how it spends its money and where it expects its funding to come from, including grants and earned income.
The Foundation has a strong history of supporting practical, community-based organisations that improve the lives of local people and we were delighted to make a first-time grant to PCrefurb’s core costs.