Computer Aid Receives Royal Warrant To Recycle The Queen’s Computers

London-based charity Computer Aid has announced it has received a Royal Warrant for the provision of computer recycling services.

The Warrant is the first ever to be awarded to a UK charity, and gives Computer Aid official recognition for its continued work with Buckingham Palace, which it has worked with since 2005, and means it can now use the Royal Arms on its marketing and communications materials.

Since its foundation in 1998, Computer Aid has refurbished and provided over 220,000 computers to organisations in more than 100 countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America. The company tests, upgrades and ships high quality Pentium 4 or above computers donated by UK organisations for reuse in schools and not-for-profit organisations.

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The charity revealed that Buckingham Palace has donated 1,400 old machines to Computer Aid over the past five years, which have then been sent to schools in Zambia and Chile, where children living in rural areas often lack access to computers.

“Everyone at Computer Aid is delighted to have been honoured in this way and it was a reflection of the high quality service they provide,” Keith Sonnet, Chief Executive at Computer Aid, said of the partnership. “The palace contacted Computer Aid directly to recycle some redundant computers having been alerted to the charity’s good work.

The charity is looking to further expand its global IT programme in 2014 through projects targeting the gender divide in accessing technology, as well as the education of farmers to aid agricultural production and food security in developing countries.

Other donors that Computer Aid works with in the UK include Betfair, Virgin, Investec, Pepsico, DFID, British Airways, and Sainsbury’s.

The charity works with partners such as SchoolNet Zambia, British Council Eritrea, UN-Habitat and UNFPA, as well as the national Computers for Schools programmes of Chile, Kenya, Swaziland and other countries in order to distribute the computers it receives.

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