Dixons Carphone donates to Age UK’s Tech Connected programme

Dixons Carphone donates to Age UK’s Tech Connected programme

• Dixons Carphone extended Pennies, its digital micro-donation charity partner, across its Currys PC World retail estate in 2020
• £100,000 raised for Age UK through over 400,000 microdonations
• Dixons Carphone is aiming to raise £1million for charity partner Age UK
• The money will help fund Age UK’s Tech Connected programme which will provide devices for older people and support to help them build their digital skills

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 11-Aug-2021 — /EuropaWire/ — Dixons Carphone, a leading omnichannel retailer of technology products and services, has announced it raised £100,000 for Age UK’s Tech Connected programme, which aims to support older people who want to build and develop their technology skills. The money raised will go directly towards providing older people with access to devices, helping them to achieve their digital goals.

The retailer is the first tech business to partner with Pennies, the leading fintech charity promoting micro-donations, giving customers the option to add a donation to their in-store card purchases. Thanks to the generosity of its loyal shoppers Dixons Carphone has been able to raise a massive £150,000 from switch-on to Pennies in 2016 to June 2021 for a variety of supported charities, including £100,000 for Age UK, despite stores being closed for some of this time due to Covid lockdown restrictions.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, day-to-day life has changed dramatically, with many shopping and public services moving online to help keep everyone safe. Yet nearly two million over-75s in England are still digitally excluded^[i] therefore unable to access many vital services.

Dixons Carphone is aiming to raise £1,000,000 for Age UK to help change this. The funds raised by Dixons Carphone will help Age UK’s Tech Connected programme support vulnerable older people who want to get online by providing them with the tech and skills needed to achieve their goals and stay connected to loved ones, making a huge difference to the lives of older people across the UK.

Alongside raising money in-store through Pennies, Dixons Carphone staff are also organising a range of fundraising activities to help raise vital funds for Age UK. Over 80 employees took part in the famous ‘Dixons Carphone Race to the Stones’, a gruelling 100km endurance event which took place on 10th-11th July 2021.

“Enabling Pennies instore to raise vital funds for our charity partner Age UK is all part of our longer-term commitment to help end digital poverty in the UK and we would encourage all of our customers to opt in,” explains Moira Thomas, Dixons Carphone Director of Group Sustainability and ESG.

“As the UK’s number one electrical retailer, we believe it is our responsibility to ensure that all generations are furnished with the equipment needed to stay connected with friends and loved ones and are given the support to understand and get the most out of the latest tech.”

The pledge underscores Dixons Carphone’s commitment to its vision ‘We Help Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology’ and promises a sustainable approach that delivers the excitement and inclusivity of technology to everyone.

Laurie Boult, Fundraising Director at Age UK, said: “We are so grateful to Dixons Carphone for their support and for helping to fund Age UK’s Tech Connected programme. It’s fantastic that they’ve been able to raise so much money through in-store donations despite the challenging circumstances retailers have been facing – we’re really thankful to them and their customers.

“At Age UK we believe no older person should have to struggle alone. We are here to provide information, support and friendship to those in need. As the world we live in becomes increasingly digital there are millions of older people who aren’t online and are at risk of being left behind. The Age UK Tech Connected programme will make a massive difference to those that want to build their digital skills, and we couldn’t do this without support from organisations such as Dixons Carphone.”

Alison Hutchinson CBE, CEO of Pennies said, “Pennies is proud to have partnered with the Dixons Carphone group since 2016, and we are of course thrilled that we’ve now extended the option to add a few digital pennies to a purchase to Currys PC World customers. The growth of the partnership will mean thousands more vulnerable older people can get the support they need to get digitally connected, which is especially important right now.”

-ends-

Notes to editors

*10% of donations go to Pennies
[i] Age UK analysis, February 2021. There are 4,777,650 people aged 75 & over in England. 41.63% are defined as non-users at the time of the survey, so 41.63% of 4,777,650 = 1,988,936 over-75s.

Other activity by Dixons Carphone to address digital poverty includes:

• We have donated hundreds of laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards and headsets to enable Age UK’s partner charity The Silver Line Helpline to operate remotely  and we also worked with Age UK to equip 500 isolated and vulnerable older people with tablets, connectivity and support
• In addition, we have recently invested and provided colleague volunteers to Age UK’s  Telephone Friendship service.
• We have loaned store display Chromebooks to 450 Dixons Carphone colleagues to enable them to home school their children
• We have supported Barnardo’s with 100 refurbished tablets and the Big Issue with 15 refurbished tablets
• We have donated over 800 pre-loved tablets to schools, local councils and hospitals across the UK including:
  The Handsworth Association of Schools, which consists of 30 schools in Birmingham, Liverpool City Council and Southampton Hospital
• ID Mobile, the mobile network owned by Dixons Carphone, has supported existing customers aged 70 and over with free and unlimited data for the duration of the lockdown periods imposed by the government
• ID Mobile has also provided NHS frontline staff extra data, calls and texts for free for the duration of the pandemic. All existing customers who work for the NHS have been entitled to this Covid-19 support package 

For further information please contact:
Information on Dixons Carphone plc is available at www.dixonscarphone.com
Follow us on Twitter: @dixonscarphone

About Dixons Carphone

Dixons Carphone plc is a leading omnichannel retailer of technology products and services, operating through 864 stores and 16 websites in eight countries. We Help Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology, however they choose to shop with us.

We are the market leader in the UK & Ireland, throughout the Nordics and in Greece, employing over 22,000 capable and committed colleagues in the UK & Ireland and approximately 32,500 globally across the Group. Our full range of services and support makes it easy for our customers to discover, choose, afford and enjoy the right technology for them, throughout their lives. The Group’s core operations are supported by an extensive distribution network, enabling delivery to stores and homes, a sourcing office in Hong Kong and a state-of-the-art repair facility in Newark, UK.

Our brands include Currys PC World in the UK & Ireland as well as Carphone Warehouse and iD Mobile in the UK, where our services are provided through Team Knowhow; Elkjøp, Elgiganten and Gigantti in the Nordics; and Kotsovolos in Greece.

About Age UK

Age UK is a national charity that works with a network of partners, including Age Scotland, Age Cymru, Age NI and local Age UKs across England, to help everyone make the most of later life, whatever their circumstances.

In the UK, the Charity helps more than seven million older people each year by providing advice and support.  It also researches and campaigns on the issues that matter most to older people. Its work focuses on ensuring that older people: have enough money; enjoy life and feel well; receive high quality health and care; are comfortable, safe and secure at home; and feel valued and able to participate.

Age UK’s subsidiary charity, Age International, supports older people globally in over 30 developing countries by funding programmes such as vital emergency relief and healthcare and campaigning to raise awareness and change policies.

Age UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (registered charity number 1128267 and registered company number 6825798). Charitable services are provided through Age UK and commercial products are offered by the Charity’s Community Interest Company (CiC) (registered company number 1102972) which donates its net profits to Age UK (the Charity).

About Pennies

Pennies is charity at the cutting edge of fintech, putting social purpose at the heart of business – working with some of the biggest UK brands in retail, hospitality and the paytech industry.

Pennies’ ‘digital charity box’ gives customers paying by card, digital wallet and emerging payment channels, a convenient way to add a small donation to their purchase when shopping with participating retailers.  Whether in-store, online and in-app, it’s a simple, affordable, data-free way to donate, with 100% of funds raised going to charity.

Pennies has enabled over 120 million micro-donations, raising millions of pounds in much-needed additional income for charities in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Together, payment providers, retailers and their customers are helping hundreds of charities make a meaningful difference to the causes and communities they serve.  Because micro-donations matter, now more than ever. www.pennies.org.uk.

SOURCE: Dixons Carphone Group