THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGISTS
CHARITY
The Raspberry Pi Foundation
WCIT Charity Provides Funding Support for Code Club
I
n 2015, before Code Club had joined
forces with the Raspberry Pi
Foundation, we applied to The
Worshipful Company of Information
Technologists for a grant of £1,000. Then,
as now, Code Club runs a wide network
of volunteers who share their passion for
digital making with children and teachers.
All over the UK we run Code Clubs for
children aged 9-11, where they learn not
only computer programming skills, but
soft skills such as problem solving and
teamwork too.
We have been able to activate 256 new
Code Clubs in London schools alone:
given our estimate that there is an
average of 14 children per club, this
means approximately 3,500 more London
children will have started coding.
In September 2015 we also launched a
campaign to recruit more student
volunteers. The campaign focused on
online content across our website, blog,
and social media channels, as well as
Code Club's Regional Coordinator team
who attended student fairs and events
We applied to WCIT for a grant to help us across the country. The campaign
cover the equivalent costs of running one resulted in 169 students registering on
Code Club in the London area for the
the Code Club site, and 47 new clubs
course of a twelve month period. We
being established.
knew that WCIT had a particular interest
in school clubs in London as the
On behalf of the Code Club UK
organisation currently supports several
programme team, thank you for the
secondary schools in the city. Funding
continued support from the Worshipful
from grants and foundations such as this Company of Information Technologists in
one from the WCIT Charity are crucial to helping us give more children the
ensuring our programme can support
opportunity to become digital makers.
each club by providing and improving our
sector leading coding curriculum and
We’re always looking for more volunteers:
training and supporting Code Club’s
if anyone in the networks of WCIT is
volunteers and school hosts.
interested in finding out more, they can
get all the information at our website.
We are thrilled to report that since June
2015, we have not only passed the 3,000
Contributed by Kate Wilsea,
club milestone but the 4,000 club one too.
Partnerships Manager, Code Club
Blenheim CPD
Employment Charity Partnership
Launches IT Suite
A
newly refurbished IT learning centre was unveiled in November for
local people engaged with Blenheim’s ‘R3’, a charitable project in
Redbridge which provides advice, treatment and support to people
whose lives are affected by drug or alcohol use. Part of the project supports
people who have overcome addiction with finding employment and developing
relevant skills to help rebuild their lives. Staff, volunteers and peer mentors at
the service are delighted with the new range of digital learning resources.
The new IT suite was created with the support of the WCIT Charity which
awarded a grant of £4,500 to Blenheim, in addition to donating other
second-hand equipment and arranging expert volunteers, from the
Pro Bono & Projects Panel, to help implement the project successfully.
WCIT Pro Bono & Projects Panel member Steve Smith, who volunteered on
the project with Liveryman Emma Steenson, said,
“It is wonderful to see Information Technology being put to such good use and
helping very deserving people to move forward in their lives.”
We look forward to reporting back further on this project next year.
From left: Karen Salahi, R3 ETE team member; Helen
Chitty, R3 ETE Manager; Jimmy, R3’s peer mentor; WCIT
Liveryman Steve Smith & WCIT Liveryman Emma Steenson
Contributed by Christina Lake, Trust
Fundraising Manager
Page 11