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3:58 PM 7th January 2021
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BBC Local Radio Relaunches Its Make A Difference: Give A Laptop Campaign In Response To National Lockdown

 
Local BBC radio has been the friend, agony aunt and shoulder to lean on for many listeners throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. And now as schools return to online learning once more, it’s time to be there again by relaunching the Make a Difference: Give a Laptop campaign to help provide access to laptops and devices for children and young people in need.

With many receiving new laptops and tablets as Christmas gifts, old devices are likely to be discarded or thrown away. But instead of them going to waste or gathering dust in households up and down the country, local BBC radio is once again asking the public to donate their unwanted items to help pupils still in need of a digital device.

From 7 January, all 39 local radio stations are launching the campaign by providing details of specialist charities across the country that will safely wipe donated devices before distributing them to local schools. And with so many charities out there, listeners can search for one nearby via the BBC Make a Difference website to ensure that their donated devices reach the young people that need them the most in their local area.

Last summer, as part of the first run of the campaign thousands of old laptops and tablets were donated by members of the public for schoolchildren across England. For those pupils who were sharing phones at home while learning in lockdown it made a huge difference and now it’s time to do the same again.

Chris Burns, Head of BBC Local Radio comments:
“Community is at the heart of everything we do across local BBC radio and I am so proud that our teams are once again uniting communities through this fantastic initiative.

“Everyone has a right to education and it has never been more important for all children to have access to the same opportunities. Throughout the pandemic our listeners have shown time and again just how big an impact we can all make, and by coming together once more to donate unwanted laptops, tablets and devices we will be able to help many more schools and families in need.”

For more information on how you can get involved in the BBC’s Make A Difference: Give a Laptop project, visit the Make A Difference website and click on the Give a Laptop tab. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5SqHJMTKZx5sYhlltXJvB1Q/give-a-laptop