Cambridge OnLine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (July 2006)

Cambridge OnLine is a successful and established charity run by and for people in Cambridgeshire, in the Eastern Region of the UK. Volunteers are involved in every aspect of its work, and it relies heavily on their day to day support. 70% of the volunteers have a disability.

Cambridge OnLine was one of the first organisations to provide free public internet access, to address the issue of accessibility for all, and to assist voluntary and public sector bodies in taking their work online. A number of organisations, including publicly funded bodies, have now taken on some of the work that Cambridge Online pioneered, starting in 1995.

As more and more of the world moves online, Cambridge Online is concentrating its work on ensuring that key sections of society are not left behind.

In its early days, the charity set out to help the general public to access computers and the internet, and this was successfully achieved through its network of 20 community access points in Cambridge. Five years ago, Cambridge OnLine started Pathways, a project designed to help people with disabilities to access computers and the internet. Things have moved on – Pathways has been overwhelmed with demand, and now delivers 1000 one to one tutorials a year. Helping disabled and disadvantaged people has now become the main focus of the charity.