It’s Mick here with a post about asking for potential volunteers for the digital devices work we do. At the Makery, we’ve done a fair bit on finding new homes for digital devices of laptops and phones. And also helping people to use phones and laptops them with a monthly Tech and Tea.
It’s been working really well. people are happy to donate us their old devices, we wipe them and test we can get them working well and people on limited funds really need these devices.
I am going to be really busy at work this year and need to step back from doing this, and so far no one has stepped up to take on coordinating it.
Although it’s important to say many great volunteers have been up for volunteering to tech and tea, and resetting the laptops and phones. Thank you for this!
I’m really reluctant to stop doing this work at the Makery, so before doing so I want to reach out and try to bring people who are interested together to see if we can keep doing it. That meeting may end up working out that there’s a gap that volunteers can’t meet, which is the coordination of other volunteers and working with partners. If so we may need to apply for funding to fund that part of the work.
So could you email on todmordenmakery@gmail.com if you are interested (no firm commitment) in any of the the following. Comments here are welcome but an email will help us to invite you to events.
a) volunteering to help people at Tech and Tea events – mostly simple phone app use and web browser use
b) resetting / wiping phones or putting new software on laptops
c) helping coordinate volunteers on the above – (emails reminding people it’s happening, hosting sessions, and helping spread the word)
d) potentially fund raising, if we need to, with the help of our council’s digital project officer
Once I have this I’ll pull together a meeting to work out a plan for the next year. So if you email, please tell me if you can’t meet in the day / evening.
I’ll also do some training on how to put different flavours of ubuntu (free software) onto old laptop computers as we have a whole bunch coming in.
Thanks for reading to the end,
Mick