Newcastle Building Society colleagues are continuing to help upskill young people in the region by volunteering their time and donating IT equipment to Newcastle United Foundation.
Led by our Community Development Specialist, Ken Hines, and Colleague Device Technical Lead, Andy McAlpine, 50 laptops were donated to the Foundation.
They will be used by young people taking part in the Foundation’s employability and skills programmes, to help them search for jobs, write CVs, and improve their digital literacy.
The laptop donation is just one part of our wider partnership with Newcastle United Foundation to create meaningful opportunities for young people in the North East.
In July 2020, we entered a six-year partnership with the Foundation worth £1.1 million, to support their flagship employability programme, NU Futures. This includes our colleagues working the Foundation to help deliver financial education workshops to schoolchildren, as well supporting the Foundation with their digital and tech workshops at their community facility, NUCASTLE powered by Newcastle Building Society.
Andrew Foster, Director of Programmes and Impact at Newcastle United Foundation, said: “It is critical for young people today to have access to digital devices as they navigate their education, job opportunities and the workplace in a technology-driven world.
“The generous donation of 50 laptops from Newcastle Building Society will help enable teenagers and young adults we engage through our NU Futures programme to build their digital literacy and improve their confidence using systems and programmes crucial to moving closer to the world of work.
“Our key partnership with the Society continues to deliver life-changing impact for communities across the North East through NU Futures and together we are empowering hundreds of young people to achieve their full potential.”
Download the press release (PDF, 150kB).
Image caption: L-R Andy McAlpine, our Colleague Device Technical Lead with Robert, one of the employability programme participants; Ken Hines, our Community Development Specialist; Gavin Ferry, Senior Manager for Learning and Skills at Newcastle United Foundation; Charlotte, another programme participant; and Stephen Blane, our IT Support Technician.
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