Slingshot brings Carphone Warehouse in on Digital Unite scheme

Digital Unite has announced that Carphone Warehouse will act as headline sponsor for Spring Online, one of the nation’s largest, annual digital inclusion campaigns which runs between April 22nd-26th 2013.

Over 7.5million people have never used the internet*, of which around 6.5 million are aged over 55 years and many more don’t have basic online skills such as searching the web and sending and receiving emails.

Spring Online is an award-winning campaign that provides a unique platform to help people understand, explore and enjoy digital technology. The campaign supports people and individuals to throw open their doors and hold free digital taster events for their local communities.

This year, around 2,500 Spring Online events are expected to be held across the UK helping thousands of older people and other less confident users, to take their first steps online.

Carphone Warehouse’s CEO, Andrew Harrison, said: “We are delighted to support Digital Unite’s Spring Online campaign which complements our vision to help make people’s lives better through technology. Digital exclusion is something we all should be addressing and with our presence on every high street coupled with friendly, knowledgeable store colleagues, we’re ideally placed to facilitate this leading initiative. Furthermore, this campaign compliments our other corporate responsibility activity, Tablets for Schools, and of course our own Geek Squad.”

The local community approach of the campaign also enables people to integrate with the resources and support closely available to them and helps to enhance the foundations of a more connected society.

Carphone Warehouse’s sponsorship of the Spring Online campaign will be administered by Digital Unite’s charitable arm, the Digital Unite Trust. Emma Solomon OBE, founder of Digital Unite expressed: “We absolutely thrilled to have Carphone Warehouse as our headline sponsor for Spring Online this year. Having access to digital technology and being equipped with the skills to use it, is a must-have in today’s digital society. It enables people to become more active citizens and more discerning consumers and it can also help to reduce loneliness and open new avenues to pursue hobbies and interests. With the fantastic support of our event holders Spring Online has helped to reach tens of thousands of people from a wide cross-section of society and inspired them to make digital technology an everyday part of their lives. Having Carphone Warehouse on board with us for 2013 will undoubtedly help to extend the reach and impact of the campaign even further and we look forward to making this the best year yet.”

This deal was brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

*ONS Internet Access Quarterly Update Nov 2012.