With 1.8 million children unable to access a laptop, computer or tablet at home – and a further 559,000 with no internet access – could you help them get set up to learn from home?

Inspired by England rugby star Maro Itoje’s campaign to close the digital divide, we’re answering his call for businesses to step up and support families in need during this time. It’s vital we all play our part right now to ensure they have the tools and connectivity they need.

“Education is our social balancer,” says Itoje. “We must do everything we can to support children who haven’t been able to access their education during this pandemic and help them reintegrate back into the classroom environment with ease, providing them with the tools they need to catch up on lost learning. But just as important is the need to equip these children with vital digital skills to expand career prospects in the future. A big thank you to Virgin Media for offering such valuable support.”

Help more kids stay connected

Virgin Media has already teamed up with the charity Business in the Community to help home learners and families facing financial difficulty during lockdown. That means getting 1,500 laptops and dongles to those who really need them. Each laptop will come with a 4G dongle containing 25GB of data per month, which is simply plugged into the device to get home learners instantly connected to teachers, educational tools and online classes.

Donate today – it’s safe and simple

Virgin Media has joined forces with gadget recycling experts Brightstar to make donating your unwanted tablets easy. For extra peace of mind, they’ll even clear and clean your device before it’s given to a new home. Your device needs to power on and have no screen damage to be safe for donation. If your device isn’t working when we receive it, it’ll be recycled instead of donated.

1. Fill in the form here

2. Safely tuck your tablet into the freepost bag we’ll send you

3. Send it in

The Help for Home Learners initiative comes as Virgin Media works non-stop to help customers stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic. That includes everything from making sure visits to NHS websites don’t use customers’ mobile data to giving our TV subscribers loads of extra channels at no extra cost.

Got a question about the Help for Home Learners initiative? Find out more with our FAQs here.