Asset disposal charity combats digital poverty at Infosec Europe

At this year’s InfoSecurity Europe event in London, startup charity Every Child Online offered a free asset disposal service. This service enabled firms to dispose of their old tech safely and wipe their hard drives. The refurbished devices were then donated to schools and other organisations aiming to combat digital poverty.

The brainchild of manufacturing marketeer Mike Tarbard and IT support Simon Gurner (founder of IT support firm Sunrise Technologies), Every Child Online began during the pandemic, a time when many UK children were consigned to a world of digital learning, even when they didn’t have the means to go online.

“It started at a school in Essex during lockdown when we realised that 40% of the 1,400 pupils did not have access to online learning,” Tarbard, the charity’s CEO, explained.

Tarbard spoke with TechInformed at his stand at the cyber security event earlier this month.

“We thought that we could help, and so during that period, we partnered with a local radio station and became the Essex hub for tech donations from the public,” he recalled.

The model the charity devised is simple: Every Child Online is an IT asset disposal (ITAD) and collection service that gathers up old kit, wipes hard drives, and provides proof certificates that they have been wiped safely, complying with all UK data and environmental rules.

The charity then recycles or refurbishes the kit and redistributes it — free of charge — to schools and other groups that reach out to young people affected by digital poverty.

“We destroy them on-site or at our own premise, and we either refurbish or recycle the devices — laptops, computers, tablets, mobile phones…depending on the quality of the device,” he explained.

Along with partnering with local radio, work on LinkedIn followed, and over a four-year period, momentum has gradually built up around London and the Southeast.

According to Tarbard, to date, the charity has donated 20,000 refurbished devices (around £6m worth of refurbished devices) to its network, which now includes 300 schools, numerous charities and clubs, and social services clubs, all of which support underprivileged children and young adults.

Companies donating include law firm Kennedys, car maker Ford, and Microsoft “plus hundreds of other London businesses,” Tarbard added.

ESG goals

While there is clearly plenty of goodwill behind these enterprise donations, Tarbard points out that donating old tech and refurbishing it also counts towards corporations’ ESG and sustainability goals. The charity estimates that, to date, it has saved over 120 tonnes of e-waste from landfill sites.

Tarbard is also keen for his charity to take a more active interest than merely refurbishing the kit. He wants to foster a passion for tech among children and the careers it may lead to and ensure that young people use it safely.

“A real focus for us is to try and ignite the passion in kids for any digital creativity. Kids without a device will never be engineers, movie producers, or make music, or design and animation — let alone be able to use Windows or Excel or any of those tools that require them to get a decent job in a digital age,” he said.

“We want to partner with schools and other charities and clubs working with kids to teach this kind of thing — and for them to use it safely,” he added.

Current partnerships also include Vodafone’s Charities Connected initiative, which offers free connectivity through pre-loaded SIMs.

Tarbard also hopes to reach out to other digitally deprived communities and has just launched a social enterprise called Everyone Digital, which focuses on the tech collection but is forging partnerships with other charities and community groups.

“It could be for Silver Surfers’ projects, refugees, young adults in social care, or clubs other than schools that can’t afford devices.

Through all these endeavours, he wants to ensure that 100% of the kit is distributed to the charities it chooses to partner with.

“There are some charities that go in and collect devices that they fix and then hand them out to local communities, but then they must recoup their losses by selling a chunk of these devices on.

“A corporate firm may have given you 100 devices, but only 60% go to the causes. What we are trying to do is make sure all those devices are used for those causes…I think we’ve got a better story to tell.”

Tarbard adds that while the charity operates in London and Essex, it has set up a template that can scale elsewhere — now possible thanks to its social enterprise status.

For more information on how to get involved with this intiative, please visit https://everychildonline.co.uk/contact-us/