Cambridge OnLine is a successful and established
charity run by and for
people in
Cambridgeshire, in the Eastern Region of the
UK. Volunteers are involved in
every aspect of its work, and it relies heavily on their day to day
support. 70% of the volunteers have a
disability.
Cambridge OnLine was one of
the first organisations to provide free public
internet access, to address the
issue of
accessibility for all, and to assist voluntary
and public sector bodies in taking their work online. A number of
organisations, including publicly funded bodies, have now taken on
some of the work that Cambridge Online pioneered, starting in
1995.
As more and more of
the world moves online, Cambridge Online is concentrating its work
on ensuring that key sections of society are not left behind.
In
its early days, the charity set out to help the general public to
access computers and the internet, and this was successfully
achieved through its network of 20 community access points in
Cambridge. Five
years ago, Cambridge OnLine started
Pathways, a project designed to help people with
disabilities to access computers and the internet. Things have
moved on – Pathways has been overwhelmed with demand, and now
delivers 1000 one to one tutorials a year. Helping disabled and
disadvantaged people has now become the main focus of the
charity.
External
links
http://www.cambridgeonline.org.uk