Project Chromebook is an endeavour of Digiplus Cyber, a Community Interest Company, and is an entirely free service that does not pay for donated laptops nor does it charge to give rejuvenated laptops to families who have little or no access to computers. At Project Chromebook we strive to transform digital exclusion into digital inclusion.
Digital exclusion refers to the lack of access, skills and capabilities needed to engage with devices or digital services that help people participate in society.
2.4 million adults who are unable to complete a single basic task to get online, such as opening an internet browser or using a mouse.
– The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee report on Digital Exclusion, published in June 2023
This is a direct result of not having access to computers and therefore they cannot acquire the fundamental skills required to operate a computer in order to get online.
Furthermore, the House of Lords goes on to state that “5 million workers will be acutely under-skilled in basic digital skills by 2030”. This means that millions of today’s youngsters will not have the requisite digital skillset for the work marketplace, because of a lack of computer access today.
However, Project Chromebook gives people the opportunity to participate in a scheme that provides families, children and adults with the means to develop their digital skills by giving them a free laptop.
Since April 2023 Project Chromebook has recycled many old, unused and unloved laptops that were gathering dust on a shelf or hidden away in a cupboard and transformed them into fully operational machines. Windows or Apple laptops are converted to run ChromeOS Flex, which is a derivative of the Google Chromebook operating system, and does not require any copyright permissions, nor does it have any compliance issues.
For organisations with their own internal IT resources, laptops can have their disk drives erased in a secure manner of their choice, by their own IT staff, prior to donating them.
For organisations that do not have their own IT resources, we offer a secure laptop erasure service for data stored on disk drives employing a 7 pass DoD Standard. This service is undertaken by ‘144 Computing’ (Company Registration No. 08171854) a company that is independent of Project Chromebook, who will provide a Data Destruction Certificate per laptop. The cost for this service is £20 Inc-VAT per laptop, bulk discounts are available on request.
We sincerely hope that your organisation will be willing to participate in this very worthwhile cause and as a result help transform digital exclusion into digital inclusion.
Please Note: donated laptops must be in working order and come with the its charging cable.
To see where you can drop-off your laptops, click here. Collections by arrangement.
It is an entirely free service that does not pay for donated laptops nor does it charge to give rejuvenated laptops to families who have little or no access to computers.
Drop-off Points