£100k grant helps launch new digital inclusion network and boost community donations
An Oxfordshire charity has rehomed more than 1,400 refurbished devices to people who need them, despite being hit by severe flooding late last year.
SOFEA, based in Didcot, was awarded a £100,000 grant from the Time After Time fund, created by Virgin Media O2 and environmental charity, Hubbub, to give unwanted tech a second life and tackle digital exclusion.
Working with partners Aspire and Bicester Green, SOFEA received more than 2,200 donated devices, with more than half (56%) coming directly from Oxfordshire residents. The rest came from businesses and public sector bodies, including Oxfordshire County Council, Instron, Pharmagenesis and FareShare. After securely data wiping, repair and safety checks, more than 1,400 devices were redistributed with people who need them.
The funding has also enabled SOFEA to launch a new digital inclusion network, designed to coordinate digital support and share resources across communities in Oxfordshire. Through regular meetings and newsletters, local organisations are working together to understand where there are requirements that aren’t being met and collaborating to support those who need it.
Ben Tuppen, Getting Oxfordshire Online Project Manager at SOFEA, said: “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved in challenging circumstances. Thanks to local donations and support, we’ve been able to help people across Oxfordshire get connected and build vital digital skills. Now we’re calling on even more residents and businesses to dig out their old devices and to take them to any of our donation points across the county so we can give them a second life.”
SOFEA has now settled back into its main base in Didcot and opened a new device repair space, inviting locals to donate working, unused IT equipment.
Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder of Hubbub, said: “SOFEA’s story shows the power of community action. By repairing and redistributing old devices, they’ve not only kept working tech in use for longer but also given people the tools they need to get online and stay connected. It’s striking two birds with one phone!”
Dana Haidan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Virgin Media O2, added: “SOFEA has shown incredible resilience, turning old devices into vital lifelines for people across Oxfordshire. We’re proud to support their work through Virgin Media O2’s Time After Time fund, which is tackling e-waste and helping connect people across the county.”
The Time After Time Fund was set up in 2022 by Virgin Media O2 and Hubbub in response to the UK’s e-waste crisis which sees the country producing more electrical waste per person than any other country in the world (except for Norway)1. The fund forms part of Virgin Media O2’s sustainability strategy, the Better Connections Plan, and is helping the company achieve its goals of supporting people to carry out 10 million ‘circular actions’ to tackle e-waste, and to connect 1 million digitally excluded people across the UK through free and affordable connectivity and services by the end of 2025. To date, £1 million has been distributed across community projects nationwide, supporting digital inclusion while helping the environment. For more information, click here.