A local councillor has said he was “gobsmacked” by the level of support for an appeal to provide reconditioned laptops to children across Bath and North East Somerset.
Cllr Grant Johnson with the Lockdown Laptop donation packages | Photo © Laura Heal
Since the end of January, two Labour party activists, including Councillor Grant Johnson, have been collecting donations of unused and older laptops that were due to become e-waste.
Cllr Johnson said: “Since January I have spent several weekends driving to all different parts of North East Somerset and Bath collecting laptops from residents.
“I’ve been gobsmacked by the level of generosity that residents have shown to this appeal and it just goes to show that where there is a will there’s a way!
“What’s been amazing is I’ve lived in North East Somerset my entire life and yet I was going to places I’d never been to before. Residents might have seen me looking a little confused as the Sat Nav took me down several wrong turns!”
Once donations were collected, they were then dropped off to Richard Stelling, who was the IT brains behind the appeal.
He wiped each laptop clean and set them all up as Chromebooks, which was considered the most user friendly for school children.
Richard said: “I managed to set up a little factory production line in my house to get through all the donations we received and even roped my son in to help.
“It’s taken several weeks but we have managed to get through the majority of the donations and I’m so pleased that children can benefit from these repurposed devices.
“We have even come up with a new slogan of ‘Learning through recycling’, which seemed very apt.”
The appeal has seen laptops reaching those that need it most through a variety of avenues, with schools and charities all getting in touch to help connect families with the scheme.
Councillor Johnson explained that there has been an increase in interest since children returned to the classroom and had to return the equipment that had been lent out to them.
He added: “Lots of children who have had access to the technology lent out by schools are now finding that it needs to be returned, so we are fulfilling a need for those children in our community.
“The response I have been getting as I distribute them across the area has been fantastic, and it just goes to show what these donations mean to our youngest residents.”
Due to the level of support from the public, the appeal has suspended collecting further donations while they work on the ones already received.
Cllr Johnson said: “We’ve been truly humbled by the level of support, but there is only so much time in a week and our little two-man team will need a break once we have finished distributing our current stock.
“There are still laptops available and I have been reaching out regularly to schools in the area to make them aware of the scheme.
“What’s incredible about this scheme is that it’s stopping a lot of these laptops eventually ending up in landfill as e-waste. We are giving it a new lease of life and more importantly a very grateful home.”
If you’d like to contact the Lockdown laptops team, email: [email protected].
