Eastbourne entrepreneur offers free video phones for elderly people to connect with family

Josh Babarinde, CEO of phone-fixing business Cracked It, has launched the new scheme to help elderly people who are shielding and may not be able to see their loved ones fact to face.

He said, “It’s heartbreaking that the virus means many care home residents are unable see their families for the time being.

“That’s why we used our corporate connections to source mobile phones they no longer needed, and refurbished them so they could be used for video calls.”

Cracked It typically fixes broken smartphones in organisations in London including Barclays and Deloitte - as well as the US Embassy.

Eastbourne lockdown babies - in pictures

Like the high street chain Timpson, Cracked It trains and employs young ex-offenders to complete the repair work to provide them with a route towards positive futures.

With many care homes closed to visitors in order to shield residents from the coronavirus, Cracked It’s ex-offender technicians are refurbishing old mobile phones and donating them to Eastbourne’s care homes so the elderly can keep in touch with their families through video calls.

Mr Babarinde, who was Head Boy at Cavendish School, said, “At a time when our care homes are under huge strain, we hope we can play a small part in helping to keep care home residents and their families connected digitally.

“This scheme is also a great way for our ex-offender technicians to give back to the community – and it’s saved lots of tech waste from going to landfill too. It’s a win-win-win!”

Mr. Babarinde is appealing to Eastbourne’s care homes to contact his team by emailing [email protected] if they’d like to request a mobile phone donation as part of the scheme.

He said, “We have more than 100 mobile phones to donate, pre-installed with video chat apps and sterilised so they are safe for distribution.

“Few things would make me happier than to see them used to help the great and good care home residents of our town.”

Cracked It was named Britain’s ‘Social Enterprise’ of the Year by both the Centre for Social Justice and the Evening Standard for its work.

Eastbourne group helping elderly and vulnerable during pandemic

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