Testimonials
VOLUNTEER TESTIMONIAL
“She explained to me how she had never really been shown how to do these things before.”
— Sachin, Volunteer
Participants
Inez -70 years old
‘I would give the support I received a 10 out of 10 rating. Lilly was great. She spoke to me calmly and if I didn’t understand anything, she would go over it again. I really enjoyed the sessions.’
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Alma -75 Years old
‘It was a lovely thing to have a 1-1 without getting scared of my mobile phone. The volunteer made everything look so easy. I learned a lot about a smartphone.’
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Pat -66 years Old
‘The volunteer was very friendly which put me at easy and I felt comfortable asking questions. I wanted to know how to upload my photos. Young people know a lot about computers so it’s nice to learn from them. I am learning all the time.’
Volunteers
"One of my favourite moments happened on my first day of volunteering. I was helping a woman set up her Zoom account. She was quite nervous about her computer skills but once I talked her through setting up her account and showed her how to join Zoom calls she immediately was able to do it by herself. She explained to me how she had never really been shown how to do these things before. This really emphasised to me how helpful our work can be and I was delighted to see her improve her digital literacy."
Sachin - Volunteer
"One of the best volunteering experiences was when helping one gentleman set up his brand new smartphone. Over the course of a few sessions together, we set up apps like Zoom and WhatsApp and practiced calling each other in next door rooms until he was able to make a call to his family in India. I was surprised by how much easier it was for him than his old handset, especially when we gave him a stylus to help press the buttons. In our last session before Christmas he showed me all these photos that his niece had sent him from her wedding. It was so great to see him more connected - although we still have to work on emails!"
Tina - Volunteer and Co-Founder
"Never before have we relied on technology more. For some, the transition to 24/7 technology was relatively smooth, however for many it was less so. This was exactly what CAN network is tackling, the digital divide to help people become less isolated through these difficult times by developing IT skills. Setting up a new device, making an email or discovering forms of entertainments on phones are but some of the things I worked on with participants of the CAN scheme. I am honoured to have been a part of such a needed cause and I wish St.Hilda's and the volunteers the best of luck in the future"
Zoe - Volunteer
Partners
Frances - Coordinator at Partner Organisation
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit last year, we had to suspend our onsite activities and responded by adapting our service delivery to support the needs of our older members in a different way. Suddenly our older members were having to stay at home to protect themselves and this led to them feeling vulnerable and isolated.
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Linkage plus decided to go digital and we started to deliver our activities online via ZOOM. The staff team and I had no idea how ZOOM worked and neither did our older members. We all felt anxious about embarking on this digital journey and realised that we needed help.
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That help came in September 2020 from a student called Lilly who emailed me about working in partnership to improve digital Inclusion for older people. By means of volunteers offering weekly 1-1 digital support, our Linkage membership were able to maintain contact and build new social connections which, in turn, gave them independence and improved their well-being.
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During the last four months Lilly, Tina and a team of amazingly brilliant, talented volunteers have supported Linkage Plus older members with all things digital including; how to switch on a tablet, set up an email address, face-time a relative, upload photos, shop online and join in Zoom activities.
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Volunteers have worked tirelessly with individual users to breakdown the digital barriers that challenge older people and build strong, trusting relationships with members. They have encouraged members ‘to have a go, try it’ and this has given participants confidence and enabled them to learn new skills. During this extremely difficult Pandemic, participants have gained digital independence and this has empowered them to want to keep learning and enabled them to socially connect to their family and friends using digital apps like face book, whatsapp and skype.
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In just 3-4 months, 20 Linkage Members have learned how to use a tablet or smartphone. In addition, 20-25 members are regularly accessing online activities such as coffee mornings, quizzes, bingo, health talks, exercise classes via Zoom. With the help of volunteers, the digital journey continues for our older people.
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A huge shout out for all the incredible volunteers who have given their time to teaching our older members. We all really appreciate your commitment. You are all Digital Rock Stars!
Coding Learners
'Learning to code with CAN has truly been an amazing experience. Starting out I was very sceptical as I had never learned anything about coding before. Surly but slowly my confidence increased and I got to meet an amazing group of people. The volunteers were so supportive and patient, whenever I felt like I couldn't grasp a concept (which was most of the time) someone always took the time out to help me until I got it. With all the support I needed I even managed to a short game, my first project! CAN is a lovely community of people and I can't wait to learn more with them."
Javairia – Coding Learner
"CAN really helped to give me the confidence to look at a piece of code and decipher it, as well as to approach other kinds of scripting. As someone who is a bit scatty and illogical, I had kind of just assumed I'd probably never be able to learn to code. But with the encouragement of Lilly and the tutors, I realised just how possible it is! The tutors were SO helpful and patient, always welcoming us with a smile, and creating useful analogies and fun methods to help us practice our new skills."
Lucie - Coding Learner