A SCHEME in York, which has been set up to help more people in the city get online, has been given a boost with a set of new laptops.

The York branch of global software company Anaplan, donated 144 laptops to the 'IT ReUse' scheme set up by a partnership of City of York Council and charities including the Community Furniture Store, Changing Lives, Age UK and others.

Nadine Pichelot, VP Finance EMEA at Anaplan, said: "York is the cradle of Anaplan, where our founder spent much time building the company.

"We like to give back to the communities where we are conducting business. We have an internal scheme where our employees can have three paid volunteer days to work for the charity of their choice."

The household goods charity Community Furniture Store in James Street works with the 'IT ReUse' scheme and deletes all old content left on the donated laptops before setting them up for the new user.

Andy Waites, chief officer at Community Furniture Store said: "We’re really grateful to Anaplan for their generosity and support for this scheme.

"It’s estimated that around 9 per cent of all adults in York still don’t have access to internet services - although the Covid lockdown has made people realise how much most of us now rely on them."

"The Community Furniture Store project was a perfect fit for this endeavour and it has received accolades from our Anaplan colleagues worldwide," Nadine Pichelot added.

Beneficiaries of the scheme to date have included low income families, older people, refugees and people living in hostels.

Referrals are received from advice and support workers through the council’s Welfare Benefits team and the machines are set up to meet the particular needs of the user.

The machines are provided free of charge and training and internet connectivity can be arranged.

Any member of the public can donate unwanted laptops and tablets at the Community Furniture Store.

Donations for the scheme are also being collected at Clements Hall, Haxby Memorial Hall and Foxwood Community Centre.