The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to alleviate hunger and provide essential supplies to those in need living in Northampton.
Fast-forward to today and the charity has gone from strength to strength, evolving into a multi-faceted charity and support network to improve the standard of living for Northampton residents.
As the McCarthy-Dixon Foundation team has worked with more residents in the community, they’ve found that people have been feeling stressed when using technology, because of the lack of knowledge around using devices such as tablets and laptops – especially throughout periods of isolation.
Trying to communicate with friends or relatives, using the most common applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Facetime, has caused a lot of stress and anxiety for those who aren’t used to the technology. Key services such as GP and dentistry also continue to use online booking services for appointments, adding to the struggle for those who need to use these compulsory services.
Founder, Teresa McCarthy-Dixon, met Simon Pickering, Managing Director of Northampton-based communications specialists dbfb, at the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards in 2020. dbfb were sponsoring the Community Project or Person of the Year Award, and Teresa won.
dbfb, a leading communication provider, specialising in flexible solutions including connectivity, IT and telephony solutions for businesses, has supplied eight tablets to the charity to support the local community with some of their communication needs.
The donation provides residents with access to devices and teaches vital IT skills to those who need it most. It helps them to understand more about technology, and modern devices and improves their confidence and knowledge when using technology – helping to alleviate some of the stress and anxiety.
Simon Pickering said,
“I met Teresa after sponsoring the Community Project or Person of the Year Award at the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards organised by All Things Business. Teresa’s energy and passion for what she has done, and continues to do, in these challenging times was infectious. When she contacted me and explained how vulnerable people living alone in Northampton could benefit from using tablets and communicating with friends or family or simply shopping, we were only too pleased to help.”
Teresa said:
“After learning the needs of our local community during the past 18 months, we have found that there are so many people struggling with their wellbeing, feeling isolated and lonely.
“We have had, as we expected, many requests to help with online shopping, and with the winter weather this will only increase. We have also supported some online GP appointments and banking requests. The tablets truly are a great help to our members and are another opportunity for the community to get together and build relationships. We couldn’t have done it without dbfb!”
Simon added:
“As a business we are committed to supporting our local communities and I would urge all businesses to look at the work the McCarthy-Dixon Foundation does and see how they could also support.”
It is one of the busiest times of the year for The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation, and it has launched its community appeal, Feed NN, to support the local community throughout the festive period.
Find out more about The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation and the Feed NN community appeal at www.mccarthydixon.org.uk
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To learn more about dbfb and the solutions it offers.
