A computer club for older local residents is proving a big hit at Brookside sheltered housing scheme in Wigan; in a matter of months members have gone from being first-time computer users to creating their own DVDs and calendars and making video calls on Skype to family and friends around the world.
Local housing provider Guinness Northern Counties, which owns the scheme, provided £1,000 start-up funding to set up the free IT sessions. The club is run in partnership with Connect I.T Plus, which provides all the necessary equipment and delivers the training.
Members of the computer club were so keen that they managed to secure almost £10,000 of additional Lottery funding to further equip the club and are hoping to keep it running from April 2012 and beyond.
“The aim was to give people of all ages the chance to have fun finding out how to use a computer and discovering what it could do for them” said Guinness Care and Support Scheme Manager Celia Croft. “It really took off and within just a few weeks the club had a dedicated following of over eight regular members from age 62 to 75.”
Most of the group had never even switched on a computer before coming along to the club and now they are designing their own greetings cards and calendars whilst others have created DVDs using Windows Live Movie Maker. Several members of the group even purchased their own laptop computers so they could continue with their projects at home between sessions.
Brookside resident Doreen Crawford aged 75, said: “I’m thrilled to discover how to download photos and make them into my own calendars. It’s great fun.”
Brookside is host to just one of five computer clubs which have been set up in the North West by Guinness Northern Counties.
The free sessions are open to all local residents and take place every Friday at Brookside sheltered housing scheme in Worsley Mesnes, Wigan.
To see some of the achievements made by members of the Brookside Computer Club, please click on the You Tube link above.
http://tinyurl.com/7a3rcra