Slimming World donates tablets to local schools

One hundred refurbished tablets will be provided to schools in Derbyshire to enable children without access to a computer to study at home while schools remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Slimming World has given 30 tablets to City of Derby Academy and Findern Primary School, in Derbyshire. And 70 tablets have been donated to Swanwick Hall School, located near to the company’s Alfreton headquarters. The school was once attended by the company’s founder and chair Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE, FRSA.

The tablets were previously used by Slimming World’s Consultants within their weekly groups, and the organisation’s in-house IT team has worked with computer retailer and e-tailer specialists Box Limited to refurbish and restore them to ensure they’re suitable for home learning.

When they heard about Slimming World’s plans for the tablets, Box Limited, who are based in Birmingham and have been providing laptops, tablets and wider technical support to Slimming World over the last five years, offered to restore the tablets for free.

Slimming World’s IT Hardware Team Manager Eddie Amat says: “As we’ve provided the IT support to enable our groups to continue to run and our Consultants to continue to provide expert weight-loss support to their members virtually, we’ve seen just how important the right technology is in helping people to stay connected. So, when we heard there were local schools and charities looking for donations of used devices, we were eager to find out how we could help.

“Ensuring Consultants who run groups across the UK and Ireland have the most up-to-date equipment to provide the best possible service to members means that we regularly update our technology. So we were delighted to be able to work with Box to refurbish and restore the tablets, and do our part to help local children who don’t currently have the access to the devices they need to keep up with their online classes in this challenging time. Our founder Margaret is delighted that some of the equipment will be going to her old school too.”

Slimming World head office staff have been committed to helping the local community during the pandemic. The company raised £2,700 for Rainbows Hospice with a Christmas raffle and has written to Nadhim Zahawi, Minister for Business and Industry with responsibility for the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine roll out, to offer its modern, purpose-built, 75,000 sq ft head office for immediate use as a Covid Vaccination Centre. The Minister responded to thank Slimming World and said the offer is being reviewed by the government’s Vaccine Taskforce.

PICTURED ABOVE: Matthew Sutton (right), ICT Technical Manager at Swanwick Hall School, collecting their tablets from Slimming World’s IT Hardware Team Manager Eddie Amat (left) at Slimming World head office.

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