AN INITIATIVE aimed at narrowing the digital gap in Oldham has been boosted by a bulk donation.
The Donate IT campaign launched in early 2024 in partnership with Tameside Community Computers.
It helps to provide the borough’s most vulnerable residents with refurbished devices that the public no longer use or need.
As part of the local authority’s commitment to making Oldham ‘one of the UK’s most digitally inclusive towns’, the council has announced it has donated 400 devices towards the campaign.
Councillor Abdul Jabbar, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Value for Money and Sustainability, said: “Our mission is clear; we want every resident across the borough to have access to digital services and we’re committed to doing all we can to provide these essential resources so residents’ lives can be the best they can be.
“The 400 devices the council has donated showcase our commitment to making Oldham one of the most digitally inclusive towns in the UK and, with the help of residents, businesses and partners, we can make the digital gap in Oldham narrower and hopefully eliminate it altogether.”
The council has reported that prior to the Donate IT campaign almost 40 per cent of Oldham residents said they, or someone they lived with, experienced some form of difficulty getting online because they lack suitable digital devices and internet connections at home.
Since it launched, hundreds of devices have been successfully recycled, restored and gifted to people who need them.
Any unwanted devices can be donated at any of Oldham’s libraries or by emailing digital.gifting@oldham.gov.uk