Trafford Children’s Charity Receives Donated Desktop Computers

A children’s charity in Trafford has received four donated desktop computers from the borough council, equipment that originally came off The Christie NHS Foundation Trust‘s books before being routed to a baby bank that supports families across the borough. Little Green Sock, which redistributes pre-loved and new essentials to children and parents in need, took delivery through the council’s Tech4All digital inclusion campaign. Trafford Council’s digital inclusion and partnership manager, Hazel Kindley, handed over the machines to the charity. The four desktops are a small entry in a much larger digital inclusion pipeline.

Since Tech4All launched in 2024, the council says it has supported over 1,500 residents with low-cost or free refurbished technology, including laptops, smartphones and tablets. Earlier this year the authority became one of the first in the country to sign the UK Government’s IT Reuse for Good charter, formalising its work redirecting retired business machines to families, pupils and community groups. The pipeline has scaled from a small pilot in Partington to a borough-wide campaign with pop-up events across four neighbourhoods. The scheme has provided hundreds of schoolchildren without internet access the tools they need for their studies.

Four Computers Reach a Stretford Baby Bank

The presentation put four working desktops into the hands of a children’s charity whose founder says referrals are climbing month on month. Catherine D’Albertanson, founder and chief executive of Little Green Sock, took delivery of the four machines at the charity’s Stretford Mall base. Hazel Kindley, Trafford Council’s digital inclusion and partnership manager, presented the kit on the day. The devices had been retired by The Christie and passed to the council before reaching the charity.

We’re hugely grateful for the donation of computers, which will go a long way to help us manage the growing number of referrals we are receiving, ultimately helping us support more children with the essentials they need to thrive.

Catherine D’Albertanson is the founder and chief executive of Little Green Sock, speaking to the Messenger Newspapers about the donation. Little Green Sock is the only baby bank in the Trafford area and operates from Stretford Mall. The Manc reports the charity has supported over 1,300 children since launch and redistributed more than £240,000 worth of essential items including clothing, cots, prams and stair gates. The same outlet’s profile shows the charity has diverted 20 tonnes of goods from landfill through its circular giving model. The families the charity serves are often in crisis: 58% are single-parent households, and 29% are fleeing domestic abuse. The model treats receiving as giving: families with surplus items pass them on to those who need them.

Councillor Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s executive member for economy and regeneration, called the donation a natural next step for the scheme. ‘The council’s Trafford Tech4All has been massively successful, and I am delighted we are able to provide these much-needed computers for Little Green Sock,’ she said. Patel put the operational case plainly: ‘Having access to digital is so important for the charity as it deals with hundreds of referrals every month from families.’ The framing matters because the council estimates up to a quarter of Trafford’s population is at risk of digital exclusion.

How the Chain From the Hospital Reached the Charity

The four machines travelled a three-step route into the charity’s office. The Christie NHS Foundation Trust retired the desktops and donated them to Trafford Council. The council routed them into Tech4All, where refurbishment partner Community Computers handles the data wipe, re-licensing and physical repair work that brings retired business kit back into service.

The same supply line has produced much larger deliveries. The council’s IT Reuse for Good charter announcement records that earlier this year a dozen devices, all originally donated by The Christie, were delivered to Blessed Thomas Holford College in Altrincham to support students most at risk of digital exclusion. The trust’s donations sit alongside a wider pool of corporate kit: L&Q Housing, Bruntwood and Royal Mail have all contributed significant device volumes. More than 300 surplus devices have come directly from the council’s own stocks. The pattern is one source’s retired desktops turning up at a college, then a charity, then more schools over time.

Patel thanked the trust directly for keeping the pipeline primed: ‘Thank you so much to The Christie for donating them to the council for our Trafford Tech4All scheme.’ That single donation helped fund the council’s bid for IT Reuse for Good charter status earlier this year. The framing shows how one retired desktop can fan out across multiple community touchpoints.

Across the scheme, Community Computers has emerged as the operational backbone of the pipeline. The nonprofit handles data wiping, software re-licensing and physical repair work for the council. Its model is now working with other Greater Manchester authorities, according to the iNetwork partner case study. The pattern matters because each device is checked and relicensed before it reaches a family, charity or student.

The journey of a single desktop from a hospital IT room to a Stretford charity plays out in five clear steps. It is a path the council now invites other businesses to replicate. The wider scheme also pairs the kit with social broadband tariffs and free data through the National Databank.

1. The Christie NHS Foundation Trust retires desktop machines from service.
2. Trafford Council takes receipt of the surplus devices.
3. Community Computers wipes data, refurbishes and re-licenses each machine.
4. Tech4All routes the working devices to charities, schools or residents.
5. The recipient group or family takes delivery of the desktop.

The Numbers Behind Trafford Tech4All

Tech4All started as a small pilot in Partington in 2023 with a single housing association donation of retired business laptops. The pilot sold 39 devices to residents on means-tested benefits at £60 each and gifted 37 more to families and school children identified by community services. By May 2024 the council had scaled the model into a borough-wide campaign with pop-up events in Old Trafford, Lostock, Altrincham and Sale. The iNetwork partner case study records 265 refurbished laptops handed out at those events. An additional 350 free O2 SIM cards were distributed through the National Databank to residents struggling with data costs.

The total ambition is wider still. The council’s own 2026 announcement says the scheme has supported over 1,500 residents since launch, with pupils from 17 schools receiving donated devices. Almost 2,000 machines have been donated by businesses to the circular economy model since launch. The environmental payoff is recorded as 292,683 kilograms of carbon and 5,119 kilograms of waste kept from landfill, according to the same case study. The council’s commitment to widening the scheme became formal earlier this year when it became one of the first local authorities to sign the UK Government’s IT Reuse for Good charter. The signing commits the council to keep scaling the model rather than running it as a one-off pilot.

• Over 1,500 residents supported with low-cost or free refurbished technology since the 2024 launch
• 265 refurbished laptops distributed at Tech4All pop-up events across four neighbourhoods
• 17 schools have received donated devices for pupils
• Almost 2,000 devices donated by businesses to the circular economy model
• 292,683 kilograms of carbon and 5,119 kilograms of waste kept from landfill

Who Else Can Apply for the Same Help

Trafford Council is offering free desktop computers to other charities and community groups across the borough on a first-come, first-served basis. The council prioritises applications from groups serving residents identified as most in need through services such as homelessness, domestic abuse support, and adult social care. For individuals, retired devices are sold at £60 each to anyone on means-tested benefits, with help connecting to social broadband tariffs and free data through the National Databank.

Other charities with similar referral demand to Little Green Sock are the natural next audience. The Tech4All donor roster now includes L&Q Housing, Bruntwood, Royal Mail and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, alongside the council’s own surplus stock. Community Computers has scaled into a partner that also works with other Greater Manchester authorities, per the same case study. The pipeline produced four desktops to a baby bank this week and a dozen to a college earlier in the year. The wider scheme pairs the kit with digital skills training run with adult education partner Xyrius Training.

Other community groups can apply by emailing digitaltrafford@trafford.gov.uk. Businesses with surplus IT kit can email tech4all@trafford.gov.uk to start the same chain. The council frames both routes as part of one wider pipeline.

Trafford Council’s leader, Councillor Tom Ross, summed the direction of travel after signing the IT Reuse for Good charter earlier this year. ‘Digital access is essential to getting on in today’s world. Signing the IT Reuse for Good charter demonstrates our commitment to tackling digital exclusion, ensuring no one in our borough is left behind, while also reducing electronic waste and supporting our climate goals,’ Ross said. The framing ties the digital and environmental goals of the scheme together. The council expects the pipeline to keep scaling as more businesses come forward with surplus kit. Other Trafford charities and groups can apply for free desktops today, with residents on means-tested benefits able to buy a refurbished device for £60 at the next pop-up event.

• Charities and community groups: email digitaltrafford@trafford.gov.uk to apply for a free desktop
• Businesses with surplus IT kit: email tech4all@trafford.gov.uk to discuss donating
• Residents on means-tested benefits: attend the next Tech4All pop-up event for a subsidised £60 device

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did the computers donated to Little Green Sock come from?

The four desktops donated to Little Green Sock were originally retired by The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and passed to Trafford Council. The council routed them into its Tech4All digital inclusion programme, where refurbishment partner Community Computers handles data wiping and re-licensing. The working machines are then passed to charities, schools or residents on means-tested benefits.

What is Trafford Tech4All?

Trafford Tech4All is the council’s digital inclusion campaign, launched in May 2024 after a 2023 pilot in Partington. The scheme distributes refurbished laptops, smartphones, tablets and desktops to residents and community groups. It combines subsidised £60 sales to individuals on means-tested benefits with free devices for the most in-need groups.

How many people has Tech4All helped?

The council’s own 2026 announcement says Tech4All has supported over 1,500 residents since launch. The iNetwork partner case study records 265 households receiving refurbished laptops at pop-up events and over 350 residents taking home free O2 SIM cards. Pupils from 17 schools have also received donated devices for their studies.

How can a Trafford charity apply for free computers?

Charities and community groups across Trafford can apply for a free desktop computer by emailing digitaltrafford@trafford.gov.uk. Devices are limited and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority goes to organisations serving residents identified as most in need through council services such as homelessness, domestic abuse support, and adult social care.

How can businesses donate used devices?

Businesses holding surplus IT kit can email tech4all@trafford.gov.uk to discuss donating to the Tech4All scheme. The council has previously taken kit from L&Q Housing, Bruntwood, Royal Mail, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, and more than 300 surplus devices from its own corporate stocks. Donated machines are wiped, refurbished and re-licensed by Community Computers before being passed on.