FreeIT - Stafford.

[FreeITstafford]

7 more devices have today made their way directly to a local primary school, making a total of 32 altogether now distributed to families struggling to get online for home learning, and in the space of only 3 weeks! I'll be buzzing for days after witnessing the staff's elation for myself, it makes every minute of staring at a screen totally worthwhile

Your donations have been amazing, there are still many items awaiting refurbishment and the drop-off points are filling up super quick, thanks all so much.
Please share the page, keep the donations coming, and even once the schools return let's never allow ourselves to see a needy family struggling or unprepared, when there is so much equipment simply being thrown in the tip.
Massive thanks also to Dan, Jack, and Ollie, who are the other 3 techs also working on this project behind the scenes and around their day jobs

Unfortunately it's tricky to publicise the names of recipient schools, ultimately we can't help everyone, so we'd prefer the schools have chance for their own discussions over allocation as opposed to being suddenly presented with several requests for help from their pupils' parents

 

[FreeITstafford]

If you are liking what you see, you can prevent us from sleeping by buying us a tin of coffee at https://liberapay.com/freeitstafford

 

[FreeITstafford]

Pleased to have delivered another 6 devices to a primary school in the ST18 area, making a total now of 38 which have gone to needy families in less than 4 weeks

As always, if the school does publicise this then we will follow their lead

Your kind donations are making this all possible

 

[FreeITstafford]

 

[FreeITstafford]

This is amazing, your donations of redundant laptops which have been dropped in at our collection point at Tranquility in Castlefields.
These will now be formatted and sanitised and fully refurbished to the best condition possible, ready to head to a primary school in the ST17 area in the coming days

 

[Gramaisc]

Tech question if anyone's in the know..
Does this forum have an API which I can tap to post threads or replies? Eg if I wanted to address this thread to give regular updates, I'm looking at using something like IFTTT to pick up my facebook posts, so that I can echo onto my web page, mailing list, perhaps a twatter feed, and of course to here.
IFTTT does give access to some rudimentary web hooks if I can use those somehow with XenForo?
I note there is a REST API available for the XenForo installation but that's geared for the admin panel.

(edit) I've seen a few posts explaining how to integrate XenForo with IFTTT, by subscribing to a subforum to email me when new posts are available, then having IFTTT watch those mails for key words, that's grand for catching posts asking for information, which would make those a priority for me to deal with, but I'm looking to work in the other direction and not have to open each platform to copy/paste a generic progress update or the like

I have interrogated Admin and, apparently, the Forum does not have an API.

 

[FreeITstafford]

Pleased to say that another 5 laptops have made their way to a primary in the ST17 postcode. This makes a total of 43 items now, in less than a month
We can also announce our association with "The Restart Project" who are acting as an umbrella organisation for us smaller outfits
https://therestartproject.org/where-to-donate-your-computer/

 

[FreeITstafford]

Mega pleased to be able to reveal that of your kind donations delivered to schools in the last week, 13 went to:
-St. Leonards first school, Dunston
-All Saints primary/nursery, Ranton
Plus an additional 5 that have gone to a yet undisclosed recipient in the ST17 postcode, not to mention our initial 25 distributed via Gnosall Parish

By the beginning of next week we will be ready to deliver our 50th refurbishment, with a batch of seven more Windows 10 laptops headed for local primaries.
As other schools agree for us to publicise their names once they have had their own conversations about allocation, you'll be able to see exactly where your donations have been going

 

[FreeITstafford]

Very proud to announce that number 50 has now landed, within a batch of 7 laptops altogether, at Church Eaton primary school

Your donations are making all this possible

What a milestone to reach in exactly 4 weeks!

 

[FreeITstafford]

Your kind donations have allowed us now to distribute 50 devices to schools which needed them. We're not done yet.

So far we can boast:

St. Leonards, Dunston - 7 devices

All Saints, Ranton - 6 devices

Church Eaton primary - 7 devices

St. Peters, Hixon - 7 devices

This coming week we will be revealing another 2 schools who have benefitted, so please keep those donations coming and we'll just keep churning them out.

 

[FreeITstafford]

We're happy to be able to add another school to our list of recipients who have agreed for us to publicise that they have benefitted from our project

Your kind donations are making this all possible!

St. Leonards (Dunston) - 7 devices

All Saints (Ranton) - 6 devices

Church Eaton - 7 devices

St. Peters (Hixon) - 7 devices

Burton Manor (Rising Brook) - 14 devices

 

[FreeITstafford]

We're pleased to now be registered as a start-up with Support Staffordshire, enabling us to access new avenues of support and training resources as we determine our future structure.

 

[FreeITstafford]

 

[FreeITstafford]

As freeIT evolves we're considering our long term aims.
1) To include not only schools, but other community groups, charities, forgotten corners of society, where money is being spent on their IT provisions which could be better used elsewhere in their missions, or where they simply don't have that money in the first place.
2) To create a network of similarly minded local tech bods, willing to volunteer their time, however limited, to help out those groups mentioned with casual advice and support. Acting as a "broker", we'd delegate the task in hand to the best suited tech bod, offering a first point of contact for both of those parties to enrol.
3) To continue to collect redundant IT equipment for refurbishment and redistribution into the community, where it's needed most, for free.

 

[Lucy]

They are great aims. This issue isn't going to go away once the schools are back so it's great that you are looking to continue.

 

[FreeITstafford]

Some gossip on the grapevine...
We've been approached by a local charity who are doing great work in mental health and wellbeing in our town.
They have 10 desktop PC's which are going to rot as they don't have the latest version of Windows installed, and were facing quotes running into the hundreds to have this work carried out.
To modernise those and bring them back in to service so that they can be repurposed for the benefit of their clients, and so that their money can be put to better use in their mission, we've agreed to take on this task for free.
Watch this space

 

[FreeITstafford]

Annnnnnd..... another one to add to the list

Your kind donations of redundant laptops are making this all possible

St. Leonards (Dunston) - 7 devices
All Saints (Ranton) - 11 devices
Church Eaton - 7 devices
St. Peters (Hixon) - 7 devices
Burton Manor (Rising Brook) - 14 devices
Doxey Primary - 9 devices

 

[FreeITstafford]

We've today helped another primary school in the ST17 area who respectfully preferred not to be named, taking our total to 68 of your donated devices which have now made their way to their new homes where they are desperately needed.
That equates to 11 a week since we took our very first donation on 12th January, and puts us well on course for our 100 device milestone by the end of only 8 weeks!
Thank you all so much!
St. Leonards (Dunston) - 7 devices
All Saints (Ranton) - 11 devices
Church Eaton - 7 devices
St. Peters (Hixon) - 7 devices
Burton Manor (Rising Brook) - 14 devices
Doxey Primary - 9 devices
Anon 1 ST17 - 8 devices
Anon 2 ST17 - 5 devices

 

[FreeITstafford]

As schools return and we spread our wings to help others in need, we're mindful that community centres and other gathering places which have community purposes will also be returning to some sort of normality.
We're considering an as-yet-unnamed campaign to take us in to the 3rd month of our project, which will aim to equip every community hub/community centre/charitable or voluntary social group in our area, with at least one internet ready laptop or PC (well, several really), to give the general public who visit that place the chance to access their online affairs if they would usually struggle to do so at home.
Put bluntly, we'd like to see a free public access "internet cafe" or at least a "computer corner" in reach of everyone, and we'll be (gently but persuasively) leaning on those places to provide the space for that to happen. We're keen to know your thoughts and suggestions

We'll also soon be able to reveal details of our collaboration with a well established and reputable mental health charity (and wow do we need them right now) in our town, who we've been helping out with some free refurbishment of their old equipment, which can now be repurposed to benefit their own clients.
And of course, we're still working through your donations of laptops which we'd collected primarily for the schools, we've had some financial help to buy replacement parts for the poorliest casualties and those will gradually leave freeIT headquarters (my hallway) in spurious bunches over the coming few weeks as we prepare for the shift into our new purpose.
Lots happening in the background, watch this space

 

[FreeITstafford]

Here it is, our new "Computer Corner" campaign.
Will you help us to equip every public building, waiting room, and community gathering place in our area with *at least* one free internet ready PC or laptop to create a computer corner, making online access available to everyone?
Please spread far and wide.
We'll still be solely helping schools in the meantime, then equipment donations received after 1st March will also be used towards this new mission.