Last year, the WCIT Charity funded St Katharine Cree to install an internet network within its Grade I listed building.
While it is unusual for the Charity to fund hardware costs, the application had the support of Court Assistant Steve Smith, who had given pro bono support to define and design the project, and had guided them through the supplier selection process too.
As a Guild Church for Workers in the heart of the City of London, its main community is low paid and precariously employed people who are typically migrant or diaspora workers. This group tends to be excluded from the usual educational or employment opportunities due to language barriers, lack of social connections, unpredictable or unsociable working hours, and a lack of access to digital services. The church previously offered English classes, leadership courses and employment advice, but the lack of WiFi limited the activities it could offer.
Following the network installation, the church is now able to provide reliable, free internet for its community activities, which has been especially useful to the many English learners who attend each week. It has also allowed the church to run a weekly legal advice drop-in, and they are now developing a major project with Trust for London to co-locate services for marginalised workers in the building, something that would not have been possible without the new connection.
