The pandemic has brought with it many challenges for communities and with schools closed and students expected to attend lessons online it became clear, through meeting with members of the Senior Leadership Team at Riverside School, just how serious the issue of digital exclusion is locally. We heard that many families with children attending Riverside School simply did not have the devices necessary for children to learn from home. In response, and with the support of local Barking & Dagenham Citizens organiser Frankie Webster, a JustGiving page was created to help to raise funds for this worthy cause (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bdcitizensdigitalexclusion).

We are very pleased to announce that as a result of the partnership between TWCP, Riverside School and Barking & Dagenham Citizens – and with support from the East London Business Association (ELBA) a generous donation of 26 chromebook laptops has been made by London City Airport. The laptops were received on Friday 19th February and within a week have been distributed to local families in need. 

There are still other local families in need of support so please do share and visit the Just Giving page to help to tackle the Digital Exclusion facing many in Barking & Dagenham.

This story is a wonderful result for all involved and a great example of what is possible when local community organisations are connected and work together to solve local issues.