Schools get £400,000 worth of furniture thanks to Haywards Heath organisation that started in lockdown

Since November 2022, C4K: Community for Kids got the items to more than 60 schools and charities.

CEO Colin Hill, 36, said the Sussex Learning Trust alone received more than £100k worth of furniture.

He said: “I was approached by Simon and Ben of the Park House management team at Doosan house in Manor Royal, Crawley, and offered a lot of furniture they wanted to get rid of due to a refurbishment.”

Some of the schools that benefitted include: Milton Mount in Crawley, Imberhorne School in East Grinstead, Warden Park in Haywards Heath and St Piers in Surrey.

A spokesperson for Warden Park said: “Thanks to the Computers for Kids team Warden Park Secondary and Primary Academies have been able to upgrade and improve office furniture across the whole school and also re-furnish most of our central staff room.”

Colin, a self-employed IT and business management consultant, said C4K started life as Computers For Kids during the lockdown of January 2021. He had ‘a couple of spare computers taking up space’ and decided to offer them on Facebook. “By next morning about 300 people requested them and about 150 people were actually offering their computers,” he said.

Computers For Kids rebranded as C4K and now operates throughout all of Sussex and parts of Surrey. Colin said: “We’ve grown to a point where we work with and support around 140 different organisations, and through that we indirectly support around 90,000 children.”

He said the computer aspect of the organisation helps children with education, access to resources and research and improves their social life. He said: “It sets a good example for them as well, because we’re showing them a way to be generous and kind.”

Colin explained that companies and individuals who donate equipment have a lower carbon footprint and said he is now asking companies to donate old technology and furniture. He said it will be passed to schools, unprivileged children and people dealing with social isolation and mental illness.

The organisation’s next goal is to launch a food parcel service for people who cannot get to a food bank and a baby bank in Crawley. Visit computersforkids.org.uk.