In a world governed by technology, it’s easy to assume that everyone has the same access to it.

However, ‘digital poverty’ is a real issue affecting millions of people across the UK and not every child has access to online learning at home. Where many jobs require a basic understand of computer literacy – even the ability to type – it’s hard to gain those skills when your only opportunity might be a shared computer at school, where others are also vying to have access, too.

We’re proud to introduce our new tech recycling partner, Every Child Online, a charity who tackle digital poverty and improve the online and digital education of children and young people.

Here’s how we support them.

Our partnership

Every Child Online is a not-for-profit social enterprise. It delivers free, professional IT Asset Disposal (ITAD) services, including secure data wiping, refurbishment, and recycling for businesses, councils, and charities.

To date, Every Child Online has received, refurbished and donated over 6 million pounds of devices to schools, educational clubs, social service departments and other charitable organisations supporting underprivileged children and young adults, all for free.

Speaking on our partnership, James, our Cyber & Information Security Manager, said: “We’re really proud to have completed our first tech donation. Partnering with Every Child Online allows us to turn old tech into something genuinely meaningful; it’s a simple way to give old customer devices a second life while supporting a great cause, but also enabled us to donate some of our old tech following a refresh of our data centre, including old networking equipment and servers. It’s a brilliant charity that enables children to have access to technology whilst also helping us and our customers make real progress on sustainability and ESG goals.”

Mike Tarbard, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Every Child Online, said: “Every Child Online is thrilled to receive this generous donation from Arc. Access to technology is a real barrier for many young people, and contributions like this make a tangible difference in helping us close the digital divide. We’re grateful for Arc’s commitment to supporting our mission and the impact their surplus tech will have on the young people we serve.”

About the charity

Every Child Online is a registered charity, dedicated to ending digital isolation for children and young people. Through projects such as Safe and Smart Online and Tech Giveaway Days, they provide devices, online safety training, and opportunities for digital creativity.

Funded by grants, corporate CSR and ESG sponsorship, and fundraising efforts, the charity’s sole focus is ensuring disadvantaged children and young adults are not left behind in education or social opportunities.

Data security: their approach

We take data security extremely seriously and our team were really impressed with Every Child Online’s thorough approach. Over the years, they’ve built a skilled in-house team trained to deliver professional ITAD services, using accredited software with a three-wipe process and provide a certificate of proof of wipe for every data-bearing device.

Devices that cannot be reused are either harvested for spare parts, repurposed through their CRE8 sustainability project or responsibly recycled by accredited partners, who recover up to 99% of materials processed.

Want to get involved? Every Child Online accepts a wide range of IT equipment, including desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, monitors, comms equipment, TVs, projectors, keyboards, mice, and other accessories. The only items they struggle to reuse are printers and desk phones, which cost them to recycle, but they’re still happy to accept them as part of a larger donation of usable kit.

If you think your company could support their essential work too, get in touch here.