OFF TO A £250,000 FLYING START!
As Mail poll reveals third of families don’t have enough computers for home study, our campaign to help get laptops to lockdown pupils is ...
OUR campaign to help get laptops to lockdown pupils has raised a staggering £250,000 in its first weekend. In a flying start beyond our wildest dreams, daily Mail readers have again shown phenomenal generosity.
From £5 to £5,000, thousands of contributions have flooded in – many from grandparents – coupled with heartfelt messages of support.
One pensioner gave £250, signing off simply as a ‘retiree’ who was ‘ happy to help the young’. And today Bill Gates, who practically invented home computing, has been inspired to add his heavyweight
support to the drive to help the neediest schoolchildren. The Microsoft co-founder said its success was ‘vital’.
David Walliams said he was ‘ pleased and proud’ to back the campaign, and urged big names to follow suit. The comedian and children’s author handed over a five-figure sum.
every penny of the money will help the Mail Force charity to accelerate the Government’s efforts to get laptops to schools.
An exclusive poll for the Mail today reveals one in three families do not have enough computers for their children to study at home.
With classrooms likely to stay shut until after easter, a ‘digital divide’ is opening up between pupils who are able to follow online lessons at home and those who do not have ready access to the internet.
Mail Force, the charity set up by the Mail last year to buy personal protective equipment for the nHS, is now obtaining devices for children who desperately need them for study. The Computers for Kids campaign launched only on Saturday yet within 48 hours, our generous readers have donated £210,000 online.
Because Mail Force is a registered charity, and qualifies for Gift Aid, which can add 20 per cent to a donation, the overall sum raised is £250,000. Many readers will have posted cheques that are yet to arrive while our online giving page was swamped with warm messages of support.
An anonymous donor decided money spoke louder than words, putting down an extraordinary £5,000. Another, named just Bowers, gave £1,000. The cash will be spent on refurbishing used laptops given by companies that are upgrading their systems.
Scores of donor firms have already been in touch with Mail Force’s IT specialist partner. For as little as £15, a laptop can be securely wiped of all data, rebuilt and made classroom-ready.
Mail Force will also buy new laptops and tablets to hand over to the Department for education. nothing Mail Force does will interfere with the Government’s programme – it will just help to speed things up.
education Secretary Gavin Williamson, writing in today’s Mail, says: ‘I’m delighted the Daily Mail and its generous readers will be helping our remote education programme.
‘I want to assure you we have been working incredibly hard to deliver the necessary tech across the country so that every child, especially those from disadvantaged homes, can keep their learning on track. Backed by the support of the Mail and its readers, I have no doubt remote education will continue to go from strength to strength.’
The Mail Force crusade has also won the backing of the main teaching unions. The scheme means the DfE has become one of the world’s biggest buyers of computers, ordering 1.3million so far – of which 800,000 have been delivered.
Among the contributions flooding in from Mail readers over the weekend was £150 from grandparents named Phil and Sue who left a message saying: ‘We have ten grandchildren, so we are funding one computer on behalf of each one.’
Donating £300, plus £75 Gift Aid, Mail reader Jill sent an encouraging message to the children: ‘Fantastic cause. Well done Mail. Good luck kids with all your studying – this will all get better soon.’
A former teacher, who gave £50 anonymously, said: ‘It is heart-breaking to witness the disparity in access to learning for our children.’
IT’S just two days since we asked for your help in providing laptops to pupils whose educational chances are being crushed because they can’t access online lessons.
Your response has exceeded our wildest expectations. In that short time you, our phenomenally generous readers, have given an astonishing £250,000.
As used laptops can be wiped and reconditioned for as little as £15 each, this means that a huge number of young people deprived of online teaching during lockdown will soon be able to benefit from it.
As our poll today shows, the situation is desperate, with a massive digital divide between children of affluent households and those less well-off.
One in three families doesn’t have enough computers for their children to study at home. Inevitably, it’s the poorest pupils who are worst affected and are being left ever further behind.
That’s why the Mail Force – Computers for Kids campaign is so vital.
As well as capturing your imagination, it has garnered praise from prominent celebrities and public figures ranging from Microsoft founder Bill Gates to best-selling children’s author david Walliams.
It also has the blessing of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, who writes in today’s Mail how ‘delighted’ he is to have our help.
dozens of companies have offered to donate used laptops, which can be collected for free and refurbished by Mail Force’s specialist IT partner. Forty-eight hours in, we are already well on the move.
But there is more to do. There may be up to a million children who don’t have the equipment they need, so if you haven’t yet joined our campaign, please do. details of how to donate are on pages 6 and 7.
In countless appeals down the years, as Mail readers you have shown your willingness to lend a hand to those in need. In the last two days you have proved that generosity shines as brightly as ever – for a cause that could not be more vital.