The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 50: Aug/Sept 2020 | Page 4

BUSINESS NEWS
PRIORITY IT TAKES A BYTE
OUT OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Priority IT, based at the Hawke Ridge Business
Park near Westbury, has been helping to address
the digital divide by refurbishing old laptops.
Since the beginning of May, the company has
helped over 100 children and young people
by providing reconditioned computers to
those in need.
The team at Priority IT, many of whom
are furloughed, have been volunteering
their time to work on the machines, with the
costs for replacement parts being met by the
company.
The initiative has been a huge success
and the company is determined to keep the
project going.
Kieran Thomas, Managing Director of
Priority IT, said, “It’s really quite amazing
how much support we’ve had since May.
Since being on BBC Breakfast we’ve had a
wave of new donations come in which will
really help families during this difficult time.
The majority of these laptops will require
a new hard disk to make them safe and
secure, and some need new chargers. It
works out at about £30 to £50 per laptop.”
To ensure the project’s sustainability,
Priority IT has launched a crowdfunding
campaign seeking donations to help fund the
parts that are key to making each laptop safe
and usable.
Kieran added, “So many people have said
they want to help, but they don’t have a spare
laptop to send, so setting up a crowdfunding
page made sense and will help us keep up
the momentum.”
Anyone wanting to make a donation to
this initiative can do so via the crowdfunding
page: www.gofundme.com/f/the-wiltshiredigital-drive
NOMINATE YOUR HEROES
Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce
which operates across Swindon, Berkshire,
Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire has
launched its Thames Valley Hero Awards.
The awards are a new initiative to
help recognise the achievements and
contributions of local businesses large and
small during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Chamber is seeking nominations
for businesses that have gone above and
beyond to support their staff, customers,
supply chain or local communities.
The Thames Valley Hero Awards will
showcase how the Thames Valley business
community has responded to the crisis.
For more info:
www.thamesvalleychamber.co.uk
Entry to the Hero Awards takes only a few
moments and is free of charge. Entries
close at 5pm on Friday 28th August and the
virtual award ceremony will be streamed
live on Thursday 17th September from
4-5pm.
To nominate your company, employee,
supplier, customer or local organisation
that has gone the extra mile visit:
http://ow.ly/PT7150ARgBl
@TVChamber
4 www.tbeswindonandwilts.co.uk