ECS Engineering Services wants to ensure that every young person in the UK has the same advantages, no matter their background. That’s why the organisation has donated to the #wemakeICTpossible campaign to provide much needed ICT resources to children and their families in the Mansfield and Ashfield area.
Ofcom estimates that between 1.14m and 1.78m children in total in the UK have no home access to a laptop, desktop or tablet, which can put those children at an immediate disadvantage when compared to their peers. During the Covid-19 lockdown, the UK Government has tried to make access to ICT equipment easier, but campaigns such as the #wemakeICTpossible rely on donations to help address the digital poverty issue.
The #wemakeICTpossible campaign accepts both monetary and ICT equipment donations – the campaign will then award ICT support to local schools for children and young people that need it most.
Clark Williamson, contracts director at ECS, commented, “We are delighted to be supporting the #wemakeICTpossible campaign. These are challenging times for everyone, especially young learners, so we felt it was very important to donate to this local cause. We offer apprenticeships to young people and know how successful they can be, so we wanted to help support learning in Nottinghamshire further.”
The campaign was created by local business leaders Gary Jordan (MD GMJ Solutions and Chair of Mansfield and Ashfield 2020), Martin Rigley MBE (MD Lindhurst Engineering and Chair of Discover Ashfield) and Katie Cooper-Lewis (Director – Grace Consultancy).
The founders of #wemakeICTpossible added, “Children and young people have been and continue, in places, to have to learn from home. However, many of them do not have the resources to do so and are at great risk of falling behind.
“We cannot express how important technology is to a child’s education in this modern era. Only a few weeks ago, technology enabled us to continue to support and judge a Dragon Den’s programme at a local school. Without technology in this current climate, none of that would have been possible. We have learned from the experience just as much as the students, who already have special educational needs.”
The campaign strapline is “digital poverty in children will and does lead to digital poverty in adults.” Former ECS MD Gary Jordan stated that without the fantastic support of local business and their charitable contributions, the campaign would be that much harder.
He commented, “We know times are difficult, but with the biggest please, if you can donate a spare £5 or have old ICT equipment lying around, please donate to this fantastic cause and let’s help our local children and young people and protect our future”.