Over the past few months, several Currys colleagues have helped develop our work on Digital Inclusion by volunteering to teach digital skills courses through the Single Homeless Project.
The charity supports more than 10,000 Londoners each year to leave homelessness behind through housing support, helping people build on their strengths and access opportunities for a brighter future. Employment, training, and education are a vital part of this work, supporting clients to improve their digital skills, build confidence, and prepare for employment.
Currys colleagues have been volunteering to help run digital skills sessions, which aim to address the digital gap amongst their clients, over 80% of whom do not have regular access to IT equipment and lack the digital skills and confidence to use online platforms.
To address this, the weekly sessions focus on essential IT topics – from setting up email accounts to online safety, job applications, and AI tools. So far, over 300 clients have participated with more than 150 devices, including laptops and phones, and 250 SIM cards distributed.
This volunteering sits alongside Currys’ wider support for the charity, which includes a £10k donation this year. This money will be spent in two areas – providing mobile phones to their clients and initiating a new ‘Digital Peers’ Programme.
This Programme will cover training and expenses for peers to initiate drop-in or taster sessions around various Single Homeless Project hostels with an emphasis on creating initial contact and awareness of support services.
Speaking about the donation, Daniah Shariff, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Single Homeless Project, said: “We’re very grateful to Currys for their generous contribution, which will help Londoners experiencing homelessness learn essential digital skills and gain the confidence to use them. In an increasingly digital society, Currys' support will help remove barriers to employment and opportunity for our clients, enabling them to take meaningful steps on their journeys to independence".