Closing the 'Digital Divide' with the Saracens Foundation

As the Coronavirus pandemic forces us to stay at home, it has taken its toll on everyone in one way or another, challenging our resilience and forcing changes to our lifestyles in a way we never imagined.

Unfortunately, the impact of the pandemic has not been equal and pre-existing social inequalities from before the pandemic have been exposed and even accelerated.

One social issue that has emerged in the past year, is the inequality gap now known as the ‘Digital Divide’. Children and young people learning from home and having to access online lessons don’t always have access to the digital resources they need.

Saracens Foundation are aiming to provide devices to over 2000 disadvantaged school children

It is estimated that since April, children who did not have access to remote learning devices during the lockdown period, fell behind in their studies by 6 months, compared to those who had access to a device.

In partnership with Bloomberg, and spearheaded by Maro Itoje, the Saracens Foundation are aiming to provide devices to over 2000 disadvantaged school children across London and Hertfordshire to play our role in closing the gap.

Supported by large corporate companies, small and medium sized businesses and individual donations, we believe this can have a massive impact in the future life opportunities of thousands of young people in our community.

After taking delivery at Capital City Academy last week – the Principal, Marianne Jeanes commented: “This will make a huge difference in helping us to achieve our aspiration for all students at Capital City Academy to have access to a laptop for their online learning.”

You can get involved in supporting the campaign in two different ways. If you, or your company has access to devices that can be donated, the Saracens Foundation will ensure they are wiped and distributed to the schools and pupils in our community who need them most. If you don’t have a device but would still like to support the campaign, you can donate money to the campaign which will be spent ensuring we reach our target of delivering 2000 laptops across North London and Hertfordshire. We have been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received so far and are proud of the impact the Saracens community has had on the campaign to date.