London, 1st May – The Digital Poverty Alliance, the Learning Foundation campaign seeking to end digital poverty in the UK, has today been announced as the instore donation partner for the tech giant, Currys.

From today, Currys customers nationwide will be offered the chance to donate 25p to charity when paying by card or digital wallet, through Currys’ partnership with micro-donation charity Pennies.

These extra pennies collected at the point of sale will aid the Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) in their mission to end digital poverty in the UK by 2030. They plan to do this by connecting disadvantaged people with access to devices and internet connectivity.

As it stands, approximately one in five young people (ages 8-24) in the UK do not have access to a suitable device for learning, and 70 per cent of households earning less than £17.5k only have foundation digital skills. This is having an adverse effect on children’s future, and worsening the social divide in the UK as digital skills are in increasingly high demand. In fact, 82 per cent of all jobs advertised require digital skills.

According to fintech charity Pennies, if every adult in the UK gave 35p each week, over £1 billion could be raised each year. Currys’ customers will have the chance to make a digital micro-donation of 25 pence per transaction, which could amount to as much as £4,000 in donations per week at busy times of the year.

For the first six months of the campaign, the Digital Poverty Alliance will be providing electronic devices to disadvantaged families across areas disproportionately affected by digital poverty. These include communities across North Norfolk, West Cumbria, Staffordshire, Ayrshire and Port Talbot and Bridgend.

Elizabeth Anderson, Chief Operating Officer at Digital Poverty Alliance said:

“The digitalisation of society is on an upward trajectory, and business, education, and day-to-day life in general is already largely supported and even run by sophisticated technology. But, digital access can be expensive, particularly for disadvantaged children and adults. Without access to devices, IT skills, or the internet, these people are more at risk of being left behind by society, and not having the same opportunity in life as their peers. This contributes to a widening social disparity and acerbates poverty.

“We are therefore thrilled to be the instore partner of Currys, which will not only bring awareness of digital poverty, but also play a large role in raising the funds required to tackle it. Donations will allow us to supply laptops and relevant digital tools to those going without, helping us to create a digitally proficient society for all.”

Paula Coughlan, Chief People, Communications and Sustainability Officer of Currys plc commented:

“Digital inclusion is one of the single most important elements of modern society and it’s so critical that we help play our part in addressing this country’s digital divide. Without access to basic technology, families will struggle to connect with the world and can become dangerously isolated.

“Our new in-store charity partnership with the Digital Poverty Alliance therefore marks a concerted effort to raise awareness, and donations, for this extremely pressing societal issue, and we hope to reconnect underprivileged children and their families with the technology they need to help them achieve their true potential.”

Alison Hutchinson CBE, CEO, Pennies commented:

“Pennies has partnered with Currys since 2016, enabling two million customer micro-donations in Currys stores and raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity. Customers have shown great generosity, with donations increasing by 180% over the last 2 years.

“We are excited to now support this new partnership with the Digital Poverty Alliance, which is so aligned to Currys purpose, giving customers a simple, affordable and accessible way to contribute and harness the power of digital micro-donations to help to end digital inequality.”

For more information about digital poverty in the UK, please see here:

Home - Digital Poverty Alliance

And, for more details about how you can donate to the Digital Poverty Alliance, please see here:

https://digitalpovertyalliance.org/currys-tech4families/

ENDS

About the Digital Poverty Alliance

The Digital Poverty Alliance is a non-profit member organisation convening individuals from across business, government, charity and education, with the sole aim of eradicating digital poverty in the UK, and ultimately globally. The organisation works to convene and combine the multiple initiatives and research on digital poverty to create one national strategy.

About Currys plc

Currys plc is a leading omnichannel retailer of technology products and services, operating online and through 832 stores in 8 countries. We Help Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology, however they choose to shop with us. In the UK&I we trade as Currys; in the Nordics under the Elkjøp brand and as Kotsovolos in Greece. In each of these markets we are the market leader, employing 33,000 capable and committed colleagues.

Our full range of services and support makes it easy for our customers to discover, choose, afford and enjoy the right technology for them, throughout their lives. The Group’s operations are supported by a sourcing office in Hong Kong, state-of-the-art repair facilities and an extensive distribution network, enabling fast and efficient delivery to stores and homes.

Our vision, we help everyone enjoy amazing technology, has a powerful social purpose at its heart. We believe in the power of technology to improve lives, help people stay connected, productive, healthy, and entertained. We’re here to help everyone enjoy those benefits and with our scale and expertise, we are uniquely placed to do so.

We’re a leader in giving technology a longer life through repair, recycling and reuse. We’re reducing our impact on the environment in our operations and our wider value chain and we will achieve net zero emissions by 2040. We offer customers products that help them save energy, reduce waste and save water, and we partner with charitable organisations to bring the benefits of amazing technology to those who might otherwise be excluded.

Visit www.currysplc.com for more information.

For more information, please contact:

Press Office – [email protected]

About Pennies

Pennies is charity at the cutting edge of fintech, putting social purpose at the heart of business – working with some of the biggest UK brands in retail, hospitality and the paytech industry.

Pennies’ ‘digital charity box’ gives customers paying by card, digital wallet and emerging payment channels, a convenient way to add a small donation to their purchase when shopping with participating retailers. Whether in-store, online and in-app, it’s a simple, affordable, data-free way to donate, with 100% of funds raised going to charity.

Pennies has enabled more than 140 million micro-donations, raising millions of pounds in much-needed additional income for charities in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Together, payment providers, retailers and their customers are helping hundreds of charities make a meaningful difference to the causes and communities they serve.

There is an estimated annual £1bn opportunity for digital micro-donations for the UK charity sector, if every card holder gave as little as 35p a week.

Because micro-donations matter, now more than ever.

For more information on Pennies, please visit:

https://pennies.org.uk

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-pennies-foundation

https://www.instagram.com/pennies_orguk/

https://www.facebook.com/Penniesorguk/

https://twitter.com/pennies_orguk

https://www.youtube.com/user/Penniesorguk