Matchmade! Laptop donated to the Camrose Centre, a homelessness support charity in Basingstoke

The Camrose Centre is a charity based in Basingstoke that supports homeless people and people in vulnerable housing situations. It offers welcoming drop-in advisory services and access to shelter, food, clothing, and showers. Its services, including a weekly ‘brunchtime,’ also provide a sense of community and companionship. The centre also helps connect people with their local GPs and mental health services. 

Challenges for the Camrose Centre

The Camrose Centre relies on volunteers and donations, so new laptops are hard to come by. Their Support Workers often have to share laptops. 

Recently, the Camrose Centre was subjected to a break-in. Among the items taken were their much-needed laptops. That’s where SquaredUp stepped in with a generous donation of a Dell laptop. 

Ian Baker, a Trustee at the Camrose Centre, said the donated laptop was ‘a very nice machine [that] was very well cared for’, and a ‘huge upgrade’ for their Centre Manager, allowing her previous laptop to go to a Support Worker. 

The donation

Samantha Baker, a Trustee and Marketing Volunteer for the Camrose Centre, was recommended A Good Thing by a friend who heard about their break-in. Samantha said of the match:

“[My friend] works for a company that donates equipment and she thought it would be worth me registering, which I did. We saw that the laptop was being offered and jumped at the chance to apply for it. It's a much better spec than our previous laptops! It's fantastic.”

An easy process

SquaredUp are Partners of A Good Thing! Owned and managed by Co-founder Richard, the board has been huge champions of our mission to send less to landfill and more to a good cause.  

Sally Lawrie, a manager at SquaredUp, said the laptop was requested for minutes after it was uploaded. Sally found the process “very simple and very straightforward from a donor’s point of view”. Since SquaredUp’s first donation in 2020, they have donated many items, including laptops, lamps, bins, shelves, desks, cabinets, tiles, carpets, and more. 

Sally was pleased to help the Camrose Centre “get back on their feet”, knowing that it is difficult for charities to source their good-quality IT equipment. She commented:

“Laptops always go quickly. If you are a small charity, as long as your laptop keeps going, you soldier on with it. So they are very gratefully received.” 

Generous donations from businesses such as SquaredUp make a massive difference to local charities. The Camrose Centre can continue to support more people experiencing homelessness or vulnerable housing situations thanks to their new laptop. 

Does your firm have any spare laptops, computers or tablets looking for a new home?