Catbytes Community

0208 314 4702
info@catbytes.community

Our Services

Digital Drop-ins

Catbytes runs digital drop ins in Lewisham. These are sociable events where people can come to learn internet skills. Catbytes are the host of these events, although the venue may be provided by a partner organisation.

All our drop-ins:

Are open to everyone.
Can be visited without pre-booking
Are free of charge.

Home visits

We also arrange one on one buddying sessions for people in their own homes. As there is a lot of demand for these, we only provide them to people who are unable to leave home.

Our Buddies

People are taught digital skills with Catbytes by volunteers who we call "buddies". Buddies sit with someone and guide them through the process of learning what they interested in. Click here to find out more about buddying.

Would your organisation like a digital drop-in?

Our digital drop-ins have a range of funders, including Lewisham Homes, Lewisham Council and Clarion Housing. If you would like to commission digital drop-ins please speak to us. We have a flexible pricing structure.

Device Loaning

Catbytes' device loaning scheme enables our clients to use technology free of charge. It is currently depends entirely of donations from the public and corporations.

We refurbish all donated devices, doing repairs when necessary.
We wipe them to an industry standard.
We install Windows 10 or 11 on the machines if they are good enough. Otherwise we use the Linux or Chromium operating systems.
They also come installed with useful software application such as Libreoffice, Zoom, Skype, Team Viewer and other popular browsers and document readers.

Beneficiaries of the scheme are referred to us by partner organisation. The partner organisations support local people who lack digital access. There is no charge to referrers for membership of the scheme.

Terms of borrowing

Beneficiaries of the scheme can borrow a device for six months. After that they can extend the loan if they are still using the device. Otherwise we ask for it to be returned. If a problem develops with the device, we will take it back and provide a new one. In this way the scheme works a bit like the TV rental schemes that some readers may remember. However, there is no cost to the beneficiary, either for the initial loan, or as a penalty for damage to the device or late return.

If you would like your organisation to become a referrer to Catbytes, please contact us.

Device Recycling & Upcycling

Catbytes accepts donations of laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets from both the general public and corporate organizations to refurbish them for community distribution.

Data Destruction Protocols

All equipment received from the public is wiped securely using the NVMe Secure Erase procedure via Parted Magic software. Corporate donations undergo automated sanitization with Redkey USB software in strict accordance with NIST SP 800-88 and IEEE 2883 media sanitization standards, backed by official digital certificates of data destruction. Smartphones and tablets undergo full factory cryptographic resets.

Zero-Landfill Policy

Any hardware component or device that is completely faulty or unviable for community reissue is transferred to our environmental partner, ToRecycle, who operate under a strict 95% zero-landfill infrastructure policy.

Public Donations

Corporate Partnerships

IT Consultancy

Catbytes has helped organisations with problems such as

Building websites
Providing organisations with donated equipment, such as desktop computers and monitors
Setting up and managing email
Setting up or troubleshooting internet/wifi
Setting up ICT suites
Helping clients and members communicate on Zoom
Supporting organisations getting cheap software, especially if they have charitable status

Among the organisations we have helped are 2000 Community Action Centre, Stanstead Lodge, The Lewisham Irish Community Centre, Lewisham Local, The Ackroyd Centre, the Honor Oak Community Centre, Beyond the Bank, Ewart Community Hall, the Lewisham Pensioners' Forum, The DIamond Club, The Lewisham Community Falls Service, Agents of Change, the Lewisham Wellbeing Map and Lewisham Homes.

Would you like some support from us?

If you have something you would like to discuss, please contact us.