Local IT volunteers support two community projects

Tricia’s Pavilion before

Tricia’s Pavilion after

Volunteers from global business and services group Capgemini have given older Shropshire residents a digital boost as well as brightening up a children’s play area.

Shropshire Council runs a free Digital Skills programme to give over-65s across the county the confidence to be online and carry out digital transactions in their day-to-day lives.

Over the last six months, 18 volunteers from Capgemini have joined a large team of volunteers who have been visiting Shropshire Council libraries to show learners how to perform day-to-day online tasks such shopping, making medical appointments, emailing, video calling and storing photographs and documents.

Capgemini’s support was especially welcome as their volunteers were able to deliver training in areas where volunteers were most needed.

Shropshire Council cabinet member for culture and digital, Robert Macey, said:-

“Our Digital Skills programme has had huge success in supporting older people in becoming more digitally confident and the volunteer learning sessions have been taken up enthusiastically, so it was wonderful to be able to boost the number of volunteers with the team from Capgemini.”

Another 15 volunteers from Capgemini which employs more than 2,000 people in Telford, have been helping The Mere Park Rangers at Ellesmere to restore Tricia’s Pavilion in the children’s playground in Cremorne Gardens. Tricia’s Pavilion was donated to the town in 1954 and dedicated to the memory of Joan Patricia Needham who sadly passed away at the age of 25.

Over two days, the Capgemini volunteers sanded down the wooden structure, restored decaying wood and then repainted the pavilion in bright colours to make it a fitting centre piece to the newly refurbished children’s playground.

Robert added:-

“Shropshire Council is very grateful to the volunteers at Capgemini for helping to deliver these fantastic community projects. It is wonderful to see volunteers from a local company making such a difference in two very different ways.

“All the volunteers have been great to work with and we look forward to working with Capgemini on future projects.”

Jo Long from Capgemini added:-

 “Our teams have greatly enjoyed supporting the local community on these two very different projects and everyone has been delighted by the end results. Capgemini is always interested in hearing about volunteering opportunities that make a difference in our local community or help to improve the environment.”