Volunteers Needed for Melksham Internet Project

The Wiltshire Online team is launching a new volunteering scheme in

the Melksham area to help more people to get online and gain confidence using the internet.

This is part of the council's four year programme to roll out superfast

broadband to a minimum of 85 per cent and up to 95 per cent of premises

across the county. The volunteering project hopes to get digital

experts to help people learn online skills and

benefit from faster, more reliable broadband.

Wiltshire Online is hoping to recruit a number of digital champions

in the Melksham area, to help with a pilot project

due to start later this month. Volunteers can give as much of their time

as they want whenever it is convenient to them.

Wiltshire Council's deputy leader, John Thomson, said: "We estimate that

there are around 68,000 people in the county who have never experienced

the benefits of the internet and this is something we want to change."

The team is also looking for a local volunteer coordinator to help

support the network of digital experts in the Melksham area.

Wiltshire Online will also work with organisations like Age UK

Wiltshire, The Learning Curve, Carers Support Wiltshire and the

Independent Living Centre in Semington to ensure that vulnerable and

socially isolated members of the community can benefit from the service.

Anyone who would like to be a volunteer or benefit from this pilot

project in Melksham, please contact Jenny Wilcockson from the Wiltshire

Online team on 01225 793349. More information about the volunteering

opportunities and the Wiltshire Online programme is available here.