Give a Gift is a registered charity based in Harehills, an inner-city area of East Leeds. The organisation provides support to local communities facing disadvantage and destitution, including people from asylum seeker and refugee backgrounds. It supports these communities by bridging the gap between the assistance provided by statutory agencies and the needs of individuals and families. The aim is to help individuals to improve their wellbeing and quality of life by developing the skills, knowledge, and self-confidence to progress and better integrate into society, reducing dependency on support services. Give a Gift’s provision ranges from advocacy, befriending, and interpretation services to short‑term financial assistance, housing support, social and recreational activities, and volunteering opportunities.
As members of Leeds Community Anchor Network, Give a Gift worked with 100% Digital Leeds and other partners in the Leeds Anchor Network on a Community Listening Exercise to help deepen understanding of the practical, cultural, and emotional challenges residents face when trying to secure employment. With the support of 100% Digital Leeds, the feedback from these sessions directly informed the design of a range of interlinked activities at Give a Gift, achieved through coproduction and collaboration, with digital inclusion support embedded throughout.
The work of Give a Gift shows that when delivered with empathy, flexibility, and trust, digital inclusion activity can significantly improve confidence and opportunities for people facing disadvantage.
Community Listening Exercises
Give a Gift works with grassroots communities and has considerable reach and expertise in engaging with sections of society that other stakeholders might describe as ‘harder to reach’. As an ABCD Pathfinder organisation, their approach is to involve and engage communities at the outset in decision making. Give a Gift works in partnership with users to take a bespoke, flexible approach to delivering activity and projects based on users’ input, encouraging people to play an active role in services impacting their lives.
“Over the years, we’ve built strong relationships and trust through culturally sensitive, grassroots support, and we have a proven track record of running successful community-based programmes.”
Director, Give a Gift
Give a Gift initially fed into Voluntary Action Leeds’s Good Jobs, Better Health, Fairer Futures report in 2023, along with fellow community anchors New Wortley Community Centre and LS14 Trust (on behalf of We Are Seacroft). This first report found a number of barriers that communities face to accessing good jobs that lead to better health outcomes. Digital exclusion was highlighted as a major factor:
“Digital exclusion provided a significant barrier to many participants being able to access information about jobs, how they can apply for them and how they can also acquire the skills for those jobs.
In one group, it was stated that 50% of people in the room do not have access to the internet either due to cost or not understanding how to use it, representing multiple barriers that caused digital exclusions for communities.
The internet was described as ‘scary when you don’t know how to use it’, implying that some participants would, at the very least, require support from a friend or other knowledgeable community member when accessing opportunities on the internet.
In addition, other participants described the financial barriers that contributed to digital exclusion, with cost being highlighted as a factor in not being able to use the internet.”
Good Jobs, Better Health, Fairer Futures report, June 2023
100% Digital Leeds became involved with Leeds Community Anchor Network after the initial report, meeting with partners to discuss findings in more depth. Give a Gift then held a second Community Listening Exercise in January 2025, attended by 100% Digital Leeds and Leeds City Council’s Employment and Skills team, to unpick the report’s findings and to concentrate on overcoming the barriers facing people searching for employment. Along with barriers such as language and comprehension, childcare, and qualifications from overseas not being recognised, the key barriers to digital inclusion faced by people – affordability, access, skills, and confidence – were discussed at length by participants.
“In the past, we had a lot of people coming to us and asking ‘Can you print this form for me? Can you fill this in for me?’ We saw and heard firsthand that many people don’t know where to start with navigating the internet, and sometimes they also don’t have the actual equipment to do that, like a laptop, or even a smartphone – sometimes you can take that for granted these days.
Many important things are increasingly only available online so it’s giving people those skills to be able to engage with vital services, and it means independence for them, because otherwise they’re completely dependent on our service who are already stretched as it is.”
Project Coordinator, Give a Gift
“We know from direct experience that digital access and learning digital skills remains a low priority for many of the families we support—not because it isn’t important, but because they face more urgent day-to-day challenges.
Many are dealing with poverty, language barriers, racism, trauma, and housing issues. As a result, developing digital or employment skills often gets pushed aside, even though it could help improve their situation in the long term.
Our team hears regularly from families who lack confidence with online systems, whether that’s applying for jobs, supporting their children with schoolwork, or accessing public services. Parents have told us they often rely on others to complete basic tasks online, which leaves them feeling disempowered.”
Director, Give a Gift
Development of a digital inclusion offer
With guidance and support from 100% Digital Leeds, Give a Gift explored opportunities to address barriers to digital inclusion by giving people the digital access they need, and helping them to develop their digital skills and confidence. A grant was secured via UK Shared Prosperity Fund that was used to purchase equipment to transform a space in Give a Gift’s office into a community digital suite, where sessions could be delivered and people could gain the digital access they need in a safe and trusted community setting. Laptops were chosen for their portability, ensuring they can be used across the service on an ad-hoc basis when needed. This provision was embedded across different services, such as the Cultural Food Hub and community engagement and outreach work.
“We wanted to focus on digital inclusion so that we could support people with sorting out issues affecting them, then in the future, hopefully getting into work. This gives them the confidence to progress in that direction. People will only come to somewhere where they feel comfortable, and trust is the biggest thing, so we wanted to do it in-house with people who understand their situations.”
Director, Give a Gift
With further support from 100% Digital Leeds, Give a Gift enhanced their digital inclusion offer by securing Quickline’s QFutures funding in partnership with Leeds Community Foundation. This fund aims to support community organisations that work with children, young people, and families to develop digital skills and enhance employability. It enabled Give a Gift to finance increased hours for their Project Coordinator to deliver more comprehensive sessions that support digital literacy, including how to use basic applications, manage emails, and search online for information.
Give a Gift has maintained their grassroots-led approach when it comes to their work to increase access and skills across the community, by listening to people and focusing on their needs, aspirations, and preferences.
“Everything we do is service user-led… We don’t treat everybody who comes to us in the same way. You’ve got to work very differently based on need. We’ve put on sessions for women who are Kurdish speakers, with an interpreter from the community, because that’s what works best to help them improve their skills and understanding, and puts them at ease. We’re also making sure it’s what they want to learn, to help them overcome challenges they face, and at their pace as well.”
Project Coordinator, Give a Gift
Increasing digital access
Barriers around affordability and sustained digital access were addressed by 100% Digital Leeds introducing Give a Gift to national digital inclusion partnerships and initiatives such as Good Things Foundation’s National Digital Inclusion Network, Hubbub and Virgin Media O2’s Community Calling scheme, and Jangala’s Get Box initiative.
“We are also part of the National Databank where we give out SIM cards with data, and we also benefited from Jangala’s support to distribute Get Boxes with 25GB of monthly data to members of the community, as many of our users simply cannot afford internet connections.”
Director, Give a Gift
As part of the national Community Calling scheme, Give a Gift also received smartphones to gift to people in need, along with 12 months’ free mobile data, minutes and texts via the National Databank, to help recipients get online.
For Give a Gift, gifting smartphones has helped staff to communicate more reliably with service users, resulting in fewer missed appointments and more consistent engagement. Improved digital access has allowed the organisation to run their training programmes more effectively and reach individuals who previously struggled to participate. They spend less time on repeated outreach attempts, freeing staff capacity and allowing teams to focus on delivering higher-quality support. Access to smartphones has enabled smoother coordination, quicker updates, and improved data sharing where appropriate.
“One client is a failed asylum seeker and has been living in the UK for over 20 years. His case is being reviewed by PAFRAS. The elderly client currently has a small old phone which is not a smartphone. He is living in a house with a family who have taken pity on him. His wife and children live in India, and he has very little contact with them. On occasion he is allowed to use one of the smartphones from one of the members of the family to WhatsApp video call his family. When he was given the smartphone, he was very emotional and was so grateful for the help. This lifted his spirits and we saw a smile on his face. He is now teaching himself to use the different features on the phone. We have offered him some support to assist.”
Director, Give a Gift
“A domestic violence client fled from an abusive marriage from Birmingham to Leeds. She was rescued by her sister who is married with family in Leeds. She literally came with nothing and was kept like a prisoner in her marital home, looking after her in-laws and her husband and not being able to leave the house. She was desperate to have contact with her mum and dad in Pakistan. The phone was a lifeline for her to finally have some contact with her parents as she had not been allowed to communicate with them. Her mental health was very low, and she had to start to build her life. We managed to get her a domestic abuse concession for three months which allowed her to have access to public benefits, and we eventually found a women’s refuge in Bradford who would help and support her to become independent.”
Director, Give a Gift
Employability and volunteering
As a direct result of the partnerships formed through the Community Listening Exercise, the Employment and Skills team delivered a structured employability programme at Give a Gift, something that was previously not possible due to limited digital resources. Participants were supported to develop CVs, complete online job applications, and carry out independent job searches using the laptops, increasing both engagement and confidence in using digital tools, as well as learning about staying safe online and avoiding scam job adverts.
The programme addressed barriers identified during the listening exercise with diverse communities, particularly around digital access, and understanding the employability process. By offering a clear, step-by-step guide to employment pathways, the programme improved participants’ skills, knowledge, and readiness for work, leading to stronger outcomes for the community.
“Continued collaboration between Give a Gift, 100% Digital Leeds, and Employment and Skills has significantly improved the learning environment for participants by providing access to essential digital equipment, which includes individual laptops and a large presentation screen. This enhanced setup has enabled an inclusive, comfortable, and effective space for learning the skills needed to move closer to employment.”
Employment and Skills Advisor, Leeds City Council
One participant reported increased confidence in identifying fraudulent job opportunities and now understands how to report them appropriately. Previously, they stated they would have struggled to recognise fake job adverts or would have needed to rely on friends for support.
“I have attended every single session from September to October 2025, and now I have a CV. I feel more confident about using the laptop to find a job. I didn’t know how to do any of this before, but now I understand things better and have improved my learning because of these sessions.”
Course participant, Give a Gift
The Employment and Skills Adult Learning Team also delivered a Step into Volunteering course as part of this work. Learners received a digital badge upon completion and were provided with information, advice, and guidance on next steps. One learner who had previously attended the employability course also attended this session and reported that it had further improved their confidence.
“This highlights the value of sustained partnership working in supporting people within the community to progress towards employment through increased digital skills, confidence, and independence.”
Employment and Skills Advisor, Leeds City Council
Next steps
After recently moving to a new office, Give a Gift has also moved its digital suite and continues to develop and deliver sessions based on community need. They have recently been offered a second year of funding from QFutures and Leeds Community Foundation after a successful visit to see their work in action.
“Give a Gift do so much with communities, always making sure communities are at the heart of their work and their partnerships across the city, like the one with 100% Digital Leeds. Their work is really impressive, and the project has helped people in the community, with plenty of potential for the future.”
Leeds Community Foundation
Give a Gift is also set to begin exploring partnership opportunities with other local community organisations, such as AME for Roma, Hamwattan, and Feel Good Factor, where staff will soon start delivering sessions to people they identify as needing digital inclusion support.
“You need to sell it to them: how is it going to benefit them? When people speak to me at the food hub about their situation, I’ll say, ‘If you come here on Tuesday or Thursday, I’ll be sitting there with you, and I can talk it through with you.’
My colleague is a community engagement worker. She works with people on more of a one-to-one basis, so she’ll find out what sort of support they need, and she’ll say to me ‘I think this person might need digital support’, and I give them a call. We’ve got other projects running and can embed digital inclusion across them all.
It’s all about tailoring your sessions. We listen to what people tell us and base our work around the needs of service users.”
Project Coordinator, Give a Gift