Did you know....? Long before we formed independently in 2021, our team and our project were funded and hosted as an unbranded Signpost service within the Highfields centre. We've actually been helping other charities and community groups get online since as far back as 2014 ❤️

Big thanks to our friends at Staffordshire County Council's tireless community support teams, for allowing us to reach so many families and individuals missing the crucial digital tools they needed to change their lives ❤️

Big thanks to our sponsors who've enabled us to spend £400 this year on SSD drives to give antique equipment a new lease of life and turn e-waste into new opportunities. We get through these like sweets, and the costs soon rack up, we couldn't do any of this without you all! ❤️

Our volunteer tech team has fixed up and rehomed 2,074 of your unwanted and broken internet-ready gadgets since January 2021 ❤️ We couldn't do any of this without you all 💪 - 1,392 Laptops, macbooks, chromebooks - 441 Desktop PC, AIO, iMacs - 241 Android tablets, iPads

“We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them” ― Epictetus

Ah shucks, it's always a pleasure

We can't fully publicise where each of our devices went because often they are going to end users via an intermediary agency, usually through sensitive or vulnerable circumstances. Here's a short insight into just a selection of our referrals over the last few weeks. We've honoured every single one.

Our volunteer tech team has fixed up and rehomed 2,070 of your unwanted and broken internet-ready gadgets since January 2021 💪 But where did they go? Easier to show you...

How's our October looking so far? Well, we've fixed up and rehomed 7 of your unwanted and broken laptops this month, more than one for every day ❤️ This takes our running total to 1,384 laptops, and 2,066 devices altogether! We couldn't do any of this without you all ❤️ Here's where they went:

** Sponsor us! ** Join us and boast your support for our life-changing project! All we ask is a minimum pledge of £15 per month to our Unity Trust bank account, just the sacrifice of a take-away. (And your email address for your sponsor updates!) It's a very simple sponsorship.

We've been very lucky bunnies just lately, we're so chuffed to have so many of you lovely people believe in our mission to this degree ❤️

Our volunteer tech team has fixed up and rehomed 2,058 of your unwanted and broken internet-ready gadgets since January 2021 ❤️ We couldn't do any of this without you all 🙌 - 1,377 Laptops, macbooks, chromebooks - 440 Desktop PC, AIO, iMacs - 241 Android tablets, iPads

Here's a few words from that Anthea off the tellybox www.youtube.com/shorts/lKbRm...

We always try to save as much as we can, but there will often be items that are too far gone. Our unviables are sent to an ethical recycling charity in Stoke, providing skills and training opportunities for local people who've been deemed "unemployable". www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TI2...

A huge thanks to everyone who's donated items to the TechCycle scheme since we partnered with Staffordshire County Council after being spotted by their superb Waste Savvy initiative💪 Your donations, even down to the random RAM sticks, are making a huge difference ❤️

We're solely fuelled by your donations. Whether that's through sponsorship or one-off cash pledges to allow us to buy parts and pay our running costs, or by gifting your unwanted devices for us to fix up and rehome, we couldn't do any of this without you all ❤️

How's our September looking so far? Well, we've fixed up and rehomed 11 of your unwanted and broken laptops this month, near enough one for every day ❤️ It's not just tech, it's dignity ❤️ We couldn't do any of this without you all ❤️ Here's where they went:

Our volunteer tech team has fixed up and rehomed 2,044 of your unwanted and broken internet-ready gadgets since January 2021 ❤️ We couldn't do any of this without you all 🙌 - 1,368 Laptops, macbooks, chromebooks - 440 Desktop PC, AIO, iMacs - 236 Android tablets, iPads

Big thanks to our friends at Staffordshire County Council's tireless community support teams, for allowing us to reach so many families and individuals missing the crucial digital tools they needed to change their lives ❤️

Our bright green cable bins are out in the wild, and this one will be doing the rounds at various pop-up locations. View our map to see where they all are currently! Google maps link ~~> www.google.com/maps/d/view?...

We're chuffed to work with SimPal who are doing amazing work in parts of the country we simply wouldn't reach otherwise. We've provided 109 internet-ready gadgets to their client base which is predominantly cancer patients across the UK 💪 It's not just tech, it's dignity ❤️

Obey the cat.

Can you guess what this is? There may be some clues. We're not celebrating just yet though, as it's still with us. But, we know where it's going, before the week is out, and it will join the other 1,999 internet ready devices that we've fixed up and rehomed for free. Watch this space!

Our travelling cable bin initiative has received so much support we've actually decided to buy in more bins! A huge thanks to everyone who's offered a bin a home, we'll get to you all as soon as those have arrived ❤️

Our cable mini-bin is currently on tour, helping us raise essential funds for our project by cashing in on your obsolete or damaged cables. If you have a spare corner and can offer our bin a home until it's full, drop us a line!

10...

Just a little clarification on our name. We are Free I.T. "Stafford" not because we are one of many franchises, and nor do we wish to be, it's simply because when we formed there was already an organisation in the US called Free I.T. and we didn't want to tread on anyone's toes.

20...

Counting down to our 2,000th handover! 25 .....

We can now boast a total of 1,970 refurbished and rehomed internet-ready devices ❤️ >gulp< That next big milestone is rocketing towards us!

Big thanks to our friends at Staffordshire County Council's tireless community support teams, for allowing us to reach so many families and individuals missing the crucial digital tools they needed to change their lives ❤️

Six more of your unwanted and broken laptops fully restored with parts that you helped us pay for, and now ready to change six lives ❤️ These are set for delivery next week, and will take our total to 1,965. We really are counting down to 2,000 now! We couldn't do any of this without you all 🫶

It's your kind donations that paid for these batteries which we'll use to restore e-waste laptops to factory condition for their new owners 💪 Five lives are about to change because five of you lovely people sacrificed a take-away ❤️ We couldn't do any of this without you all ❤️

We've had a bit of a re-jig to fit everyone in and create some space, don't worry though, you are all still there, plus some new faces 😍 Here's everyone we've supported since January 2021 with a total of 1,954 internet-ready devices 💗

We changed 4 more lives yesterday, taking our total since January 2021 to 1,953 ❤️ We couldn't do any of this without you all ❤️

We are blown away by this! An absolute honour and a pleasure 😍 Well done to the whole team for their production!! We couldn't do any of this without you all ❤️

Please keep in mind that because we operate a zero-to-landfill policy we will only use ethical recyclers for our waste. Unfortunately there are certain items that cost us to dispose of, and others that we simply don't have the room for, as we prioritise our small space to meet true demand.

We're just a week in to July and so far this month we've already fixed up and rehomed 10 of your unwanted and broken internet-ready gadgets. Here's where they went ❤️

What we have here is a heap of laptops donated by you lovely people, about to be fitted with spangly new batteries paid for by you lovely people, which can then go on to change 3 lives. Reminder - you all are super kind ❤️

How cool are our sponsors, seriously though! These amazing people support our regular costs as they truly believe in our magic. Can you help us fill those gaps? 🫶

Another example of how we spend your money on really nerdy things that are mostly unseen, but vital to every refurbishment. We'll always replace these hidden batteries if depleted otherwise the device could fail to start one day, completely out of the blue. Nobody wants that. You are all so kind 💗

Here's a few words from that Anthea off the tellybox