Our recent IT support sessions delivered in partnership with Improving Lives Plymouth have proven to be incredibly valuable. Building on this success, extending these sessions into the communities we work in felt like a natural next step.
With a shared ambition to deliver accessible IT support across the city, Anna from Improving Lives Plymouth applied for funding and was successful in securing support from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology through the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund. This funding made the Better Connected project possible, enabling partners to work together to reach more people and reduce digital exclusion.
This project, lead by Improving Lives Plymouth, saw Timebank South West working alongside Borrow Don’t Buy, the Plymouth Wellbeing Hub Network & Age UK Plymouth to deliver I.T support across six different Wellbeing Hubs in the City.
M has recently had support from a Better Connected Volunteer to help with a mobile phone issue. They had heard about the offer through word of mouth and thought ‘do you know what, I could do with that’.
Across the UK, people are working together in different ways to make a real and lasting difference
At HMP Aylesbury, prisoners earn volunteering hours through their roles as Listeners and Safer Custody Representatives, supporting the wellbeing and safety of others in custody. Rather than keeping those hours for themselves, they choose to donate them to Timebanks across the country, turning their support into something that reaches far beyond the prison walls.
In Plymouth, those donated hours have been used to support Better Connected volunteers—Timebank members who go out into the community to provide peer support with IT and digital skills. This includes helping people with mobile phone set‑up, downloading and using the NHS App, understanding tablets and laptops, and completing important forms such as Blue Badge and Veterans Card applications.
From prison wings to community centres, these contributions show how people in very different circumstances are connected by a shared goal: helping others. Each act of support—whether listening to someone in distress or helping a neighbour get online—creates positive change and real impact.
Together, these efforts demonstrate the power of Timebanking and peer support to connect communities, restore confidence, and improve lives—locally and across the UK.