The Standard today (January 28) joins forces with rival publishers across the North of England to launch the Cash for Connectivity appeal.

The emergency fundraising is targeting £1.2m to help provide free internet to 100,000 disadvantaged households.

Young children are being denied their basic right to education because they cannot access online learning at home during lockdown.

The appeal is part of the Laptops for Kids campaign, launched by technology entrepreneur David Richards and supported by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and a growing number of newspapers, businesses and local authorities.

Cash for Connectivity will fund the purchase of dongles - inexpensive hardware to connect laptops and up to five other devices per household to the internet.

Northern MP Julie Elliott is leading calls for mobile network operators to supply free sim cards for use with the dongles.

David Richards, founder and CEO of data software company WANdisco plc, said: “This is a quick and inexpensive fix to an urgent social problem and we encourage readers to donate.

“Connectivity is as important as water and should be freely available to those in need. Together we can help end the data drought in the North of England.”

Sarah Mulholland, Head of Policy at the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “While it’s fantastic that people and businesses are donating laptops and devices to help children learn from home, equally as important is ensuring that families have internet connectivity.

“The pandemic has deepened existing disparities in education, with the most disadvantaged children at risk of falling even further behind their classmates if we don’t step in.

“With help from people across the North, we’re confident we can ensure our young people are able to get the technology they need to keep on learning.”

Julie Elliott, MP for Sunderland Central, said: “Too many children are currently trying to access their education from home, without suitable devices or data, and this campaign has been launched to try and solve this.

“It is an inexpensive solution that can reach the people that need it, and that can help so many young people who are disconnected and at risk of falling behind.

“We have already seen lots of generous people who have given so much, including donating laptops and devices all across the North. Providing those that need it with the connection to the internet is just as important too, and I do hope that by working together, we can help as many people as we can.”

The Laptops for Kids campaign launched in Sheffield in September and is scaling up across the North with its proven method of sourcing, securely erasing and distributing devices to schools, according to need.

Partners include Blancco plc, the global leader in certified data erasure, the non-political Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Twinkl, the online educational publisher, and WANdisco plc, the data software company jointly headquartered in Sheffield and Silicon Valley.

Now The Standard is appealing for local people and businesses to get involved and make sure every child in the borough has the connectivity access that they need to keep learning.