This year marks the 10th anniversary of Dorset Council’s Volunteer Digital Champion service. We are running a series of articles and videos to celebrate this milestone. In this article, we meet the volunteers and learners at the very special Sturminster Newton Learning Centre.
Tucked away in Sturminster Newton’s community building The Exchange is a room that is a hive of activity.
It’s Wednesday morning and people are flocking in for one purpose – to take advantage of the free IT equipment and get advice from Dorset Council’s volunteer digital champions.
This is the Sturminster Newton Learning Centre, a free weekly drop-in service run entirely by eight volunteers.
We met up with volunteer digital champion David and some of the learners to find out just what kind of help is available to the people of Sturminster Newton.
David has been volunteering at the centre since it opened and formally became a Dorset Council volunteer digital champion several years ago.
He said: “One of the advantages of the Learning Centre is we are able to show people all kinds of equipment here, from mobile phones, to tablets, to the desktops and we’ve also got smart devices.
“We can stand there and ask a little Google screen what’s the next bus time for Yeovil and it will tell us exactly what time it is and where to go to catch it. It even tells you how long it takes to walk to the bus stop.
“You can get people excited about what’s available and the benefits of digital.”
One of David’s regular learners is 80 year-old Roger, who has been coming to the Learning Centre for more than a decade.
So, what makes him keep coming back?
“It’s the best place in the whole of Dorset!” Roger exclaimed.
“It has the equipment and the volunteers, and you know they’re here to help you.
“With new technologies emerging and getting more difficult, this help is so needed. I have a smart phone but I’m still struggling with that because of my age, you know, we didn’t used to have these things. It’s alright for a 10 year-old now, it’s instinctive to them.
“I’m always saying to people who struggle to use digital, don’t ask me – go and see the volunteer digital champions.”
When Roger first visited the centre more than a decade ago, he never owned a computer.
He needed to send some correspondence abroad and emails were now easier (and less costly) to do this.
With no computer at home, Roger turned to the Learning Centre so he could use the IT equipment there.
He then inherited a computer, and the volunteer digital champions were able to help set it up for him and update it with the latest software.
Roger remembered: “Loads of people can do those things, like installing Windows 10, without help but if you don’t know how to, the volunteers here can help – just like they helped me.”
And why is Roger still coming to see the volunteer digital champions more than a decade after his first visit?
“At the moment we’re trying to set up my smart phone to pay for parking,” he said.
“It’s really against my principles but it’s the world we live in now. They are also trying to encourage me to do internet banking but I’m still resisting. I’ve got to go 30 miles to my nearest bank branch now. Again, it’s the world we’re now living in.”
And would Roger recommend other people come to see the volunteer digital champions?
“There’s about 5 or 6 million of us over 80s, there’s never been that many before. Volunteers offering this type of service is essential,” Roger remarked.
“You don’t have to have a computer as all the equipment is here. So come along, try it out, and see how you get on.
“People can start off on simple things and I reckon in about six goes’, they can then decide what they want to do. There might be people who also can’t afford computers, so the learning centre is great for them as well as they can come here to use them.”
Another regular visitor to the Learning Centre is Liz who has been coming for around 12 years.
And what makes Liz keep on coming back?
She said: “I’m hopeless with technology. All I want to do is be able to respond to and send emails, catch up with friends and to play Patience! I don’t want anything else.
“I’m on my fourth or fifth phone now and they (the volunteers) are just setting it up for me. When I get strange calls I come straight here and say is this a scam? They say yes, just ignore it, and set my mind at rest.
“They really are very helpful. Any problems at all, come here, everyone is so friendly and helpful.”
The Learning Centre, located in the Lydden Room in The Exchange, is a drop-in open every Monday morning and all-day Wednesday.
Dorset Council also has volunteer digital champions based in many libraries across the county.
To find your nearest volunteer digital champion service go to www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/volunteer-digital-champions
I have worked in communications for 25 years, first as a journalist and then in public and private sector public relations. From Southampton originally, I have lived in beautiful Dorset for the last two decades. My passion for Dorset has also turned into a passion for landscape photography. My other great loves are my family and Southampton Football Club.