BATTERSEA
Power to Connect Director recognised
in Queen’s Birthday Honours list
I
The Queen’s Birthday Honours list was published recently and among those recognised was Power to Connect Director, Isabel Oakley Chapman, who receives an MBE for ‘services to the community in the London Borough of Wandsworth, during Covid-19’.
sabel is honoured for the key role she has played in launching Power to Connect, the Wandsworth-wide initiative that started in April 2020 by Battersea Power Station and Wandsworth Council. Isabel led, the now independent CIC, to protect digitally excluded families and young people from the impact of Covid-19 by appealing to local residents and organisations for donations of unused devices and working with a team of IT and transport volunteers to refurbish and redistribute to families and young people in need.
Michael Hallick, Assistant Director - Business and Resources, Wandsworth Council Children’s Services said, “I am ecstatic that Isabel and the Power to Connect team have been recognised in this year’s honour list. Huge congratulations! Isabel and our team have taken an idea, and through sheer determination, turned it into an organisation that has helped change many lives for the better. 2,000 laptops is 15% of the overall mainstream school population of Wandsworth, a huge impact at a very difficult time for so many. Power to Connect was born out of a unique partnership between Wandsworth Council and Battersea Power Station. It’s incredible what has been achieved in two short years. It is great Isabel has been so well recognised, huge congrats, just incredible.”
Emilie Haston, Head Teacher, Goldfinch Primary School said,“We have been so grateful for the lifeline that Isabel and Power to Connect gave many of our children during the lockdown when we didn’t have access to any additional devices. It enabled children who had limited access to a device the opportunity to log in every day and be part of live teaching and access google classroom to complete learning tasks.”
Sarah Banham, Head of Communities & Sustainability, Battersea Power Station Development Company, “We are so proud of Isabel and the Power to Connect Team receiving this honour. Isabel has worked with the Battersea Power Station Communities Team since 2018 and she is a brilliant example of a Wandsworth resident, who has gone over and above to make a difference in her community. The Battersea Power Station team, alongside Wandsworth Council, were very involved in setting up Power to Connect with Isabel in the early days of Covid-19 and so it is amazing to see how the project has gone from strength to strength, with its social purpose growing beyond the pandemic. We will continue to cheerlead for the Power to Connect team and cannot wait to see what they do next.”
As a result of this collaborative work, and two years since launching, Power to Connect have received over 2,000 unused fully working devices for some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged residents in the borough. Ensuring that families are supported in accessing home-schooling and staying digitally connected during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
12 | Business Connexions
Since launching in April 2020, Power to Connect, which is run by local volunteers, has: • Received 2033 device donations from local residents and organisations • 1754 devices have been refurbished and redistributed to families and young people in Wandsworth • 77 schools and 16 community organisations have received devices from Power to Connect •
Last year, Power to Connect started to offer Digital Skills sessions, which are led by the project’s IT volunteers. The aim of the sessions is to ensure families who have been given a device are confident enough to be able to use them correctly, look after the device and keep themselves and their children safe online. So far, 11 Digital Skills session have taken place at six local Wandsworth Schools and a total of 45 parents/carers/grandparents have attended. Below is some feedback from those who have attended sessions: “I learnt a lot of information regarding keeping our children safe when playing online games. I would recommend this session to any parent with concerns” “It was great to learn about online safety and understanding how parental control works. Big thank you to the volunteers” “Really useful to be able to discuss freely in small groups and with experts” “I gained lots more confidence using the computer ” “This session was very beneficial, I’m super excited and have learned many things. Specifically, how to secure my password a nd how to make the children websites or games safe.” • Power to Connect have launch its Key Supporters Network, looking for annual contributions from local organisations to help keep up this vital work in the community. • To sign up for FREE Digital Skills session, Donate Hardware or become a Key Supporter please email hello@powertoconnect.co.uk
