Today we’ve got an amazing brief in partnership with 02 and Hubbub to help raise awareness for an important cause. This theme is different to anything we’ve done before, so we can’t wait to see how the OMBLES respond to this one in their typically brilliant creative ways!!

It's also the season for gifting with Christmas coming up and Giving Tuesday is happening tomorrow! So you may want to consider that in your entries too. Good luck and check out the full details below!

Brief:

We’re hoping the OMBLES will help us spread the word in support of our initiative and encourage people to get involved.

11 million people in the UK do not have access to the internet. Gift your old smart phone to someone who really needs it and O2 will pay for 12 months connectivity. More info below.

Please tweet your entries to @O2 and @HubbubUK with the hashtag #CommunityCalling

Prizes:

Winner receives £150 cash prize plus tickets for Up at the O2 for them and a couple of friends!!

N.B. You don’t have to include the O2 logo…but we’d love to see creative uses of our blue colour in your entries where you can. Check out the O2 instagram for inspiration! instagram.com/o2uk

Overview:

O2 have partnered with Hubbub on a national initiative to keep the most vulnerable connected in time for Christmas.

O2 are supporting a nationwide mobile device and data donation drive to support the most vulnerable who are digitally disconnected from others
The network is partnering with charity Hubbub, with the aim to donate 10,000 devices and 12 months of free connectivity to digitally excluded people in cities either facing, or at risk of Tier 3 lockdown restrictions
The news comes at a critical time as restrictions lead to a reduction in social contact – meaning that many people are struggling and isolated
Support the campaign and donate your old smartphone to Community Calling – visit http://www.hubbub.org.uk/communitycalling

About #CommunityCalling

Covid-19 has seen us all change the way we interact with each other. With 77% of us using our phones and the internet as a coping strategy, lockdown for those without a device hasn’t been easy. At the start of lockdown, Hubbub, together with O2, trialled a campaign that re-homed a whopping 538 smartphones with vulnerable, and otherwise digitally excluded, owners. With 28 to 125 million smartphones lying unused in people’s homes in the UK, we’re expanding our brilliant initiative with the hope of redistributing another 2000 smartphones across three London boroughs with support from the public and businesses. Along with the phone, each beneficiary will receive 12 months of free credit provided by O2. Following the London expansion, we will be taking Community Calling to five locations nationwide: Manchester; Bristol; Leeds; South Wales and Glasgow with the aim of supporting a total of 10,000 digitally excluded households.

As part of the campaign, O2 will be donating 12 months of free connectivity to the beneficiaries, which will include unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 6GB of data per month for a full year.

Digital connectivity has been vital this year: preserving economic output, helping businesses adapt and keeping us close to the ones we love. However, too many people are digitally excluded, without access to devices or connectivity.

O2 and Hubbub are working closely with local community groups in each city to identify those most in need of a smartphone – people who desperately need access to essential services, support with education and employment, or to keep connected with loved ones. The most vulnerable individuals have been identified as those who are shielding, the elderly, refugees, domestic abuse survivors and those in low income households.

All beneficiaries will also be able to access digital skills training at local support centres, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to thrive in the longer term.

Gift your phone

Anyone in the UK can get involved by donating unused smartphones. It’s easy to sign up online – you’ll receive a free-post donation box to post your old and workable smartphone, to be refurbished by trusted partner Reconome. It will be data-wiped, sanitised and redistributed with user guides and PAYG SIM cards. Alternatively, those who don’t have an old smartphone can choose to donate the cost of one month’s top-up for the beneficiaries by visiting hubbub.org.uk/donate-data-to-community-calling-resources.

O2 and Hubbub are also encouraging businesses to support the campaign by organising bulk device donations, or providing collection boxes in their offices (where appropriate).

If you’d like to support the campaign and donate your old smartphones to Community Calling, visit http://www.hubbub.org.uk/communitycalling/ for more details.

Community Calling connects the vulnerable in Southwark

The move follows a successful trial earlier this year, which saw over 500 devices distributed to residents of Southwark in London. It had an overwhelmingly positive effect – from keeping families connected during lockdown and reducing loneliness, to supporting home-schooling and helping people secure employment – as well as tackling the problem of e-waste. Three of the success stories from the trial are included below:

Mr Smith, one of the beneficiaries from the trial in Southwark, is a 60-year-old living alone with additional needs and a speech impairment. He had never used a smartphone before, which is why his local community group, AgeUK, ensured the phone was updated and accessible for his needs before receiving the device. Thanks to the Community Calling network, a local volunteer from GoodGym (a group of runners that combine exercise with helping their communities) helped Mr Smith understand how to use his new smartphone – enabling him to connect with his friends, peers, and colleagues, attend online activity groups, and receive text alerts for medical appointments.

Katie and Jay attend Bede House in Southwark (a centre for adults with learning difficulties) for social reasons. However, due to the pandemic, their main social outlet in life is closed at the moment – which means that many of the people who visit Bede House are feeling lonely and disconnected. The smartphones they received via Community Calling have enabled both Katie and Jay to stay in touch with the centre and their friends – they can access the centre’s app, join daily virtual meetings and activities, and share photos with each other.

Mary is a single parent who, pre COVID-19, supported herself and her son by working as a cleaner. When the country went into lockdown in March 2020, she was unable to work and ineligible to claim benefits. Unemployed and at risk of homelessness, she was disconnected from the outside world and struggling to cope. Community Calling was the lifeline she needed – it provided her with a smartphone, which allowed her to apply for jobs. The next week she received a job offer and she now proudly works as a cashier at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre.

Mark Evans, Chief Executive of O2, said: “Connectivity has been vital to keeping the country running during the pandemic, but if you’re unable to get online you’re likely to miss out on a lot of support. We’ve already seen the positive impact Community Calling has had on vulnerable people in Southwark, so we’re pleased to announce this expansion and tackle digital exclusion elsewhere across the country. We’re determined to support the people who need it most.”
Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder at Hubbub, said: “It’s been heart-warming to see the positive impact receiving a smartphone through the Community Calling project has already had on so many people’s lives. Being connected to loved ones and accessing essential services is easily taken for granted, but is still not a reality for too many people. We’re looking forward to working with O2 to expand Community Calling to get more people connected and prevent unnecessary electrical waste. We’re calling on individuals and businesses with spare smartphones to donate them to somebody who needs a device to stay connected at this difficult time.”
Minister for Digital Infrastructure, Matt Warman said: “Digital connectivity has been a lifeline for many of us during the pandemic and I welcome O2’s efforts to get more vulnerable people online.
“The government brokered an unprecedented deal with mobile operators to offer extra support to those struggling to pay their bills and better deals such as free or low cost mobile data boosts, and I am pleased to see O2 is continuing to do whatever it can to help those affected by the virus.”