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BBC radio campaign aims to supply school children with laptops in lockdown

BBC Radio is relaunching the Make a Difference: Give a Laptop campaign to help provide access to laptops and devices for children and young people in need.

The Manc The Manc - 7th January 2021
August de Richelieu / Pexels

BBC Radio has relaunched an exclusive campaign to help provide children with laptops during the latest national lockdown.

With schools closed all over the country, millions of young people are once again learning from home for the foreseeable future – meaning they need access to devices.

In an attempt to ensure all children can continue to learn effectively via screens, BBC Radio is relaunching the Make a Difference: Give a Laptop campaign – which encourages people to donate old or spare electronic devices to pupils during the pandemic.

From today (January 7), all 39 local BBC 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.

The campaign initially launched last summer during the first lockdown in England – with thousands of old laptops and tablets being donated by members of the public for schoolchildren across the country.

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BBC says the first Give a Laptop campaign made a ‘huge difference’ and ‘now it’s time to do the same again.’

Julia M Cameron / Pexels

Chris Burns, Head of BBC Local Radio commented: “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.

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“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 website here.

News

Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre

Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.

The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.

Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.

A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.

Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.

It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.

Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.

As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.

Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.

The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.

Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.  

Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.

The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.

Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.

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“Help us be a lifeline to organisations on the frontline,” Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity urged in it’s public appeal for donations.

You can help make sure ‘A Bed Every Night’ is a reality for all by donating here.

Featured Image – EthelRedThePetrolHead (via Flickr)

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