Not ready to accept that summer is over, I’ve been employing the old ‘head in the sand’ trick when it comes to acknowledging the date. But as they say, time waits for no person, and certainly not for me. So it is with some degree of shock that I announce we have come to the end of our last giving quarter.
Of course, that shock quickly melts into pride when I think about the amazing charities we’ve had on our app since August. A massive thank you to Seawilding, Bright Green Future and SolarAid—if you’d like to know what they’re all about, read my previous Pawpoints article.
To spread the love, and keep things interesting for you, we’re now tapping in 3 new charity partners. These guys are equally as awesome, so without further ado let me introduce the charities you can now spend your Pawpoints on:
The Restart Project
The greenest gadget is the one you already have. The Restart Project teaches people how to repair broken or slow devices, from tablets and toasters, to iPhones and headphones. They also campaign for the Right to Repair, which will force manufacturers to make spare parts available so that their products can live longer. This is all done in the name of reducing e-waste and slashing carbon emissions.
E-waste is the waste produced by all of the electrical and electronic goods we throw out.
Why does it matter? Sadly, e-waste is the fastest growing domestic waste stream globally (E waste monitor, UNU). As for the UK, we’re the second largest producer of e-waste per capita; second only to Norway, which has a population 10x smaller than ours. This means our e-waste mountain is actually much larger than Norway’s, and that’s before we consider the fact that they have a better recycling rate than us!
E-waste is problematic for a number of reasons (learn more about that in our blog, ‘E-waste: what is it?). Pawprint has partnered with The Restart Project to support their efforts in teaching people how to value and use devices for longer, and advocating our government for a much-needed systemic change. As a business, we have committed to no e-waste to landfill through a partnership with Junk It. Why don’t you encourage your workplace to do the same?
Sustrans
The charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle is back! You might remember Sustrans from the early days of Pawpoints; we love what they do so much, we’ve brought them back for more.
Sustrans is helping to build a world where the way we travel creates healthier and happier lives for everyone. They’re involved in numerous projects, including protecting, improving and promoting the National Cycle Network; creating streets that make walking, wheeling and cycling safer; and organising events which encourage people to walk and cycle more often.
They prioritise work with people who are less able to access the benefits of walking and cycling, and look to involve seldom-heard voices so that they can develop solutions that work for everyone.
Here's some footage of what we got up to when we visited Sustrans as part of our Summer Sprint Tour....
Apps for Good
When our Founder, Christian, said ‘We need our brightest minds behind climate action if we’re going to beat it’ he wasn’t wrong. So, we’ve partnered with Apps for Good—a charity working with teachers to provide free technology courses to students. One of their main goals is to make the tech sector more inclusive.
Did you know that currently only 5% of leadership positions in the technology sector are held by women? According to PwC’s research with 2,000 A-Level and university students, ‘the gender gap in technology starts at school and carries on through every stage of girls’ and women’s lives.’ Apps for Good is working to combat this, ensuring that of the 22,300 UK students they’ve reached so far, 49% were girls.
Of course, gender is but one area where inequality can be seen in the sector. The charity has also worked hard to reach those in challenging circumstances—62% of the UK schools they’ve worked with are educating students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
‘We teach more than coding. We are giving young people the skills and confidence they need to thrive.’
Currently, the charity is piloting a climate and wellbeing-focused programme, which will see students work together to create a tech product that addresses an aspect of the climate crisis that is impacting their community. Watch out Pawprint!
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Want to support these charities? Sign you and your colleagues up to Pawprint, take on some carbon-reducing actions and earn Pawpoints. Then, spend them by voting for how we split up our monthly donation!
