Meadow Well Connected celebrate a successful remote Get Online Week

This year’s Get Online Week took place predominantly online, with almost 400 Online Centres up and down the country hosting over 2,000 events. One of these centres was Meadow Well Connected, a community centre in North Shields.

We spoke to Lynn, Meadow Well Connected’s Employability Lead, about how their remote Get Online Week went this year. “Meadow Well Connected ran a diverse program of events. There was a cook-along session on YouTube featuring a slightly unusual ‘cheese curry’, a virtual tour of the 5-acre community garden, and hosted online games like bingo that people could join in and actively participate in from home. We’ve got people interested in considering that IT isn’t just about typing on a screen by doing activities that engaged people’s interests.”

There was a lot more of a buzz around it this year because it was so different

Meadow Well Connected also used Get Online Week as a chance to promote the value of volunteering to their community by running a Facebook Live event talking about what it’s like to be a volunteer. The event was an opportunity for people to find out more about volunteering opportunities they have on offer in the current climate and what future opportunities may look like.

Lynn said, “We want people to know that using the centre or volunteering could provide a stepping stone for people to get out and about in places they feel safe in once the pandemic subsides.”

This year’s delivery model saw more people engaging in Get Online Week at Meadow Well Connected than in previous years. Lynn commented that “a lot more people who wouldn’t necessarily want to come into the centre joined in and events felt more connected. There was a lot more of a buzz around it this year because it was so different.” She added that if in-person events were possible in future years they would still look to including online events as a part of the program.