Connect 50: Give the Gift of Connection

Aim

Help us give 50 people refurbished devices to connect with loved ones, access vital services and opportunities - while protecting our planet

Imagine being locked out of everyday life

• You need to apply for a job. It's online
• You need to check your benefits. It's online
• You need to fill in a health form. It's online
• Your family lives miles away and you want to see their faces. They're online
• But you don't have a computer

For many of us, losing our laptop for a few days would be frustrating. For someone experiencing digital exclusion, not having one at all can mean being shut out of opportunities, essential services and human connection.

More than 800,000 people in Scotland are living with that reality.

At Edinburgh Remakery, we believe something as simple as a refurbished computer can help change that.

AND YOUR DONATION COULD BE DOUBLED

IT'S NOT JUST A COMPUTER

When so much of everyday life happens online, not having a computer doesn't just mean missing out on technology.

It can mean missing out on life.

A job opportunity. Essential support. Learning. A conversation with someone you love.

Put the right technology into someone's hands and suddenly, there's a way in.

• A way to apply for that job
• A way to access support
• A way to learn
• A way to see a familiar face
• A way to feel connected again

 That's what you're giving.

Not a screen. Not a keyboard. Not just a piece of refurbished technology: A way back in.

ONE COMPUTER. TWO CHALLENGES

At the same time as people are being excluded because they don't have technology, we're throwing staggering amounts of it away.

Electronic waste is growing five times faster than documented recycling. The world already produces 62 million tonnes a year, heading towards 82 million tonnes by 2030. We think there's a better way.

Connect 50 brings those two challenges together. Technology that is no longer needed by one person or business can become a lifeline for someone else.

Instead of becoming e-waste, a computer gets a second life. And someone experiencing digital exclusion gets a way back in.

That's the circular economy made real.

WHO WILL YOU HELP?

We'll work with our community partners to reach people across Edinburgh and the Lothians who genuinely need access to technology.

That includes disadvantaged women, refugees and New Scots, people affected by homelessness, young people, older people and local families experiencing hardship.

Different people. Different circumstances.

The same barrier: they need access to technology and can't afford it.

OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS

WHAT DOES YOUR DONATION MAKE POSSBLE?

£112.50 helps cover the materials and repairs needed to refurbish the device.

£137.50 supports the skilled staff time involved in e-waste segregation, technical repair and managing our Tech Gifting Programme.

£50.00 contributes towards the essential overheads that allow us to deliver the programme safely and effectively.

£300.00 One refurbished device. One more person connected. Valuable technology kept in use for longer.

WE'VE SEEN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GIVE SOMEONE THE CHANCE

Connect 50 builds on Edinburgh Remakery's existing Tech Gifting Programme which we’ve been running since 2020. We've refurbished and gifted almost 3000 computers, working with community organisations to get technology into the hands of people who need it.

Along the way, we've learned that digital exclusion isn't an abstract problem. Behind every statistic is a person trying to navigate a world that increasingly expects them to be online, without giving them the means to get there.

We've also learned that end of life tech that organisations no longer need can still have years of useful life ahead of it.

That's what drives us.

Good technology shouldn't become waste while people in our communities are going without it.

We've seen what happens when that barrier is removed. Now, with Connect 50, we want to give 50 more people that chance.

PLEASE HELP US CONNECT 50. DONATE NOW.

Give a computer a second life and give someone a way back in.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 22nd November 2026 at 11:59pm