Senior IT staff at Hammerson, owner, operator, and developer of prime urban real estate, volunteered their professional skills on 6 August 2024 to help bridge the digital divide faced by local older people.
Hammerson supported three of their employees to deliver IT sessions for older people at Penfold Community Hub, a dedicated centre offering a range of weekly activities for people aged 50 and over. In addition to the skill-sharing sessions, Hammerson donated five new laptops for the centre’s activities.
Penfold’s Activities Manager Telma (left) receives the five laptop donations from Hammerson IT colleague, Zahid.
The IT sessions are part of the Marble Arch Community Programme which supports its business members to engage in employee volunteering that addresses a diverse range of community needs.
Navigating an increasingly digital world can be challenging for older people. According to an Age UK 2023 digital inclusion survey, of those aged 65 and over:
- Almost one in five (19%) are unable to manage their money and transactions online.
- Around one in four people (26%) are unable to set up email and social media accounts which help them communicate online.
- Over one in three (36%) are unable to use software to create, write or edit documents.
Tablet support from Winston in Hammerson’s IT team.
Smart phone optimisation from Zahid in Hammerson’s IT team.
The IT sessions are popular with Penfold residents and their day users, with the 30-minute slots fully booked up for their latest session in August.
Those booked on the sessions are greeted to a friendly and welcoming atmosphere and can chat through their problems over a cup of tea and biscuits. Issues ranged from setting up smart phones, downloading apps, helping to understand the functionality of tablets and laptops, to resolving software problems.
Being able to use my professional IT skills to help members of the community keep up to date with and understand technology is incredibly gratifying as well as important. Nearly everything we now do has a digital element to it and this trend will only continue to grow.
Jack Pettifer, Application Stack Lead, Hammerson
Setting up the five donated laptops to support Penfold Community Hub’s digital engagement activities.
If you are a Marble Arch BID member and would like to find out more about the wide range of employee volunteering opportunities, please contact Phil in the Marble Arch BID team.
