We were lucky enough to have Beth Fisher, Mayor of Harpenden attend our Christmas Drinks in the Harpenden Arms recently. Twice a year we honour one of our volunteers for their contribution with the Queens Award for Voluntary Services we won in 2020, which they can display at home. This time, Philip Le Riche – seen on the right – was being recognised for nearly 10 years volunteering with Computer Friendly in cyber security and PAT testing all of our own equipment and all the recycled devices we give away. Beth very kindly presented the trophy and then commented more generally:

“It was a pleasure to meet Harpenden’s own IT department! The breadth of knowledge and expertise is impressive and we are lucky to have volunteers who empower and enable people. This brilliant group has helped so many local people with issues that would otherwise prevent them from, for example, seeing a GP or communicating, making transactions and accessing information online. The virtual word can be intimidating for some and it can become overwhelming. It changes all the time! Apparently, nits are now a good thing to want lots of! This group helps to breakdown those barriers and assists with the use of tech, software and apps but also the repair and provision of machines themselves. I would not hesitate to contact them if you have a computer need or question. They are willing to help, as their name suggests, in a friendly and kind way.”

A HUGE thank you for your kind words Beth, they were much appreciated by all our volunteers!