E-CHAMPIONS SUCCESS STORIES

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Project Management | Achievements | e-Champion Support | Success Stories

The Coalfield Forum is made up of local people, workers & organisations. We are a voluntary organisation, currently seeking charity status and have elected Officers, who are made up of local people from the villages in the Shiney Row, Hetton, Houghton and Copt Hill wards in Sunderland.

We have over 200 groups from both voluntary and statutory sector who work together to make a difference to people living in the area and tackle real issues which we are affected by.

In February 2004 the Forum were successful in receiving funding to employ a Development Worker and Administration Officer to drive the vision of the Forum forward. After meeting with the e-government unit and explaining the background about the Forum, it was agreed that we qualified to become an e-Champion and a Community of Interest site, little did we know where this would lead to.

The e-Neighbourhood unit are so supportive, friendly, understanding and helpful it’s scary. They have helped us create, design and establish the Coalfield Forum website, which is used by many groups across the target area and reduces the social exclusion and digital divide between generations and communities. There have achieved this by offering one-to-one support; delivering training courses; offering advice on hardware/software and what spy ware and virus systems to use to protect our computers; assisted us to comply with DDA regulations and this support is continuous, it doesn’t stop when your site goes live, which prevents us having a nervous breakdown when the systems crash.

The differences the project have made include: strengthening the IT awareness of the membership; increased communication methods; reduced costings on stationery and postage; raised educational standards; improved employment opportunities; reduced isolation and develop local peoples confidence and self-esteem levels.

Community e-Champion Barbra McClennan brought together 329 pupils from 14 schools across Sunderland and other parts of Tyne and Wear to Ramside Hall Hotel to gain insight into the range of careers available in tourism in the region. The event was one of many which will result in the top 50 children venturing over the sea on a free trip to Holland.

Sunderland’s Hylton Red House, Castle View and Castlegreen, and Houghton Kepier were just some of the local schools which attended what may well have been the largest youth focused event in area.

One of the main attractions was the Army’s massive field kitchen, which was parked outside the hall. Teams of pupils were taught how to make – and flip – pancakes to show how the Army is catered for when on manoeuvres (note from Chris - I missed out on the pancakes but heard they were great). Another catering activity also proved popular with teams learning how to make fancy fruit and vegetable garnishes for fine dining with Louis Restaurant.

Strategic thinking skills and team work were put to the test with a giant connect-four game brought in by City of Sunderland Council’s department of sport and leisure. For the more active pupils there was a chance to try out some of the safety harnesses and equipment used by Sunderland Wall.

After trying a range of activities throughout the morning the teams of youngsters worked on customer service skills during the afternoon. They had to design their own questionnaire about customer service in a hotel.

This activity was supported by computer equipment supplied by the e-Champions Project as part of Sunderland City Council’s e-Neighbourhoods Programme.

Chris Roberts is a geography teacher at Castle View School in Sunderland. He said: “These events are improving all the time. Our pupils today have been fantastic and they have been positive about what they are doing.“

Gareth Cook – Lifelong Learning
With the help of the Community e-Champions Laptop and the Office Software, Gareth has recently successfully completed the CLAIT module on Microsoft Access. Having the use of the laptop meant that he could opt to complete the course using the Distance Learning Package with Sunderland College. This meant that he was able to do the Course from home and fit it in around his other commitments. Although Gareth tells us he did “burn quite a bit of midnight oil!”

St David's Church & Community Centre
St David’s Pentecostal Church at Farringdon is home to several e-vangelists who are now in the throes of developing an EVH for the whole community to use.

Dad-of-four Andy Bellfield and grand-dad Eddie Toomey became e-champions and soon started influencing their friends, families, neighbours, fellow church members and even total strangers. “I’d never even switched one on before,” said Andy who receives incapacity benefit. “I went for some training and it’s opened up a whole new world for me.” In fact, his wife Sheila, is now an e-champion too and attends their meetings.

All groups which meet at St David’s use ICT's provided by the e-Champions Project and thanks to the laptop loan scheme on offer the youth group have written and designed a newsletter which has been delivered to homes on the estate The council’s e-Neighbourhoods Team are currently working with the Community to develop an EVH with internet access for local people.

Sunderland & Washington Deaf Children’s Society
The Society was pulled back from the brink of extinction when Eddie Toomey, Chair, became an e-champion. Treasurer Marjorie Maggiore also signed up for a laptop and they both became part of the Community Development Network. The on-line links and information opened the door for external funding – the society recently received a £32,000 grant and membership has grown 300%. It now provides a range of activities and e-contact with four other deaf societies in the region has led to a new mini-Olympics for deaf children and a joint funding bid for mini buses to transport the youngsters to regional events. “The training and support I received have made all the difference,” said Eddie. “To say it’s been an empowering experience is a bit of an understatement!”

Washington Church of Christ & Asylum Seeker Project
The former primary school in Columbia, Washington is a local community hub which now has ICT at its very heart...thanks to the delivery of two laptops a couple of years ago. Organisations such as Sunderland Wood Turners, Washington Asylum Seekers Project, Yorkshire Online, WEA, Age Concern, Women’s Integration Craft Group, Brownies, and Guides use the busy EVH which has nine computers with internet access.

The building is run by Washington Church of Christ which uses it as a place of Worship on Sundays and facilitates other community activities, including a crèche, the rest of the week.
Church pastor Joseph Hannan became a Community e-Champion and recognised how ICT could be used to increase learning, inclusion and social and cultural opportunities. “We’re open as long as people need to be here- one asylum seekers had to work on a document for his residency until 9pm the other night so we stayed,” said Joseph. “We have another unemployed man who comes in to research recipes which he then cooks for us – he’d be sitting at home on his own otherwise.”

Joseph works alongside fellow e-Champion Rodney Thomas. Both have Community e-Champions laptops which they make available to anyone needing e-access in the privacy of a quiet office.

Local people are using the centre more since the addition of the EVH - annual footfall has more than doubled to 35,000. This Provision of ICT's through the e-Neighbourhoods Programme has more than doubled the footfall at a church/community centre in Washington.

Sheila Rooney - Citizen’s Advice Unit
Work – Information gathering on funders and fundraising that will hopefully result in a job for someone

Joseph Hannan – Home Visits
I had a tremendously ill elderly lady who was housebound, I went to her house every week and connected her with her family by video link which was scattered all over the world. Before she died she was able to do this for herself which made her very happy

Marian McGuiness – Sunderland Refugee Network
The Refugee Network has linked into Sangini which resulted in a selection of ‘workshops’ for a group of refugee women. To date we all enjoyed the Egyptian dancing- this lasted around 2 hours and took their minds off many of their problems. We hope to raise funding to continue this session for 2-3 months. It allowed us to taste ‘culture’ and try on their traditional costumes.

Marjorie Maggiore – Deaf Childrens Society
The e-Champions has not only made a difference to my life but has had a huge impact to my voluntary work in the S.W.D.C.S. In the early days of receiving my laptop, I put it in a cupboard locked away afraid of IT. I could not turn it on. Eventually, training was mentioned and Eddie said ‘I think they are checking on our use on these laptops.’ I thought I had better bring it out of hiding. I came to my first training day and it changed for me. I was no longer afraid – the opposite in fact I wanted to know more.

Since the training I have started a course on Wednesday. I am emailing, keeping in touch with the LSP when I am unable to attend meetings, booking meetings by email, assessing funders. Our group is in touch with other deaf groups now through using email

Our children are now using a computer club at Thorney Close Enterprise Centre – I can actually help a little. It is fantastic what my IT has done for me and our group. I used to tell my children to get off their PC, did they have nothing better to do – now its me! I am looking forward to using Powerpoint to deliver informative evenings to parents of deaf children.

Arthur Carr - North East Refugee Service – Sunderland Branch
Clients are using the Internet to access country reports and Email to have evidence sent from their home country to support, and in some cases, reopen their asylum cases. Without this resource they would find it difficult to do this. Several of our clients are doing college courses and use the system to type up homework and assignments. There are often long queues at colleges for computer time so this facility has proven to be a godsend to them. Some clients have found enough evidence to support a second application for asylum.

Staff are using the technologies outside opening hours to access case histories and to keep up with changes in legislation.

As an organisation we have used the kit for training purposes, targeting specific areas of need. People from other offices in Newcastle and Middlesborough are coming to Sunderland to deliver and get training using Powerpoint presentations as training aids.

It is envisaged that as our Integration and Development workers get on stream they will be training clients to do basic letter writing and job search. The EVH and Community e-Champions Laptops are the perfect tools for the clients to put what they have learnt into practice. We also plan to produce Training modules to train up people who are volunteering with us. This benefits both them, our Organisation and clients.

Feedback Comments from Community e-Champions at Project Evaluation Event
I’ve now started a basic course on IT.

I’ve found courses attended very helpful

I’ve learned from fellow members as well as presenters

My son-in-law has signed onto a CLAIT course just because of the laptop coming into the house. He now uses email and word processing on a daily basis. (Eddie)

I am able to use the laptop where as before I could not turn it on. I can go on the internet and send emails

I think its fantastic how people that feared computers are now operational and have passed on their skills to others

I now know that my disability will no longer prevent me from using my computer to aid me in the work that I do because the print size can be adapted to my needs (Marjorie Atkinson)