The Information Technologists' Company

London, 15 December 2008: iT4Communities (iT4C), the national IT volunteering programme, has launched the IT Volunteering Awards 2008, in conjunction with the British Computer Society and IT4C’s new partner appiChar, which recently signed a £15,000 sponsorship deal with the charity.

The sponsorship package will allow the iT4C charity to continue its work and ensure that more charitable organisations will benefit from volunteer IT professional support. Leading IT consultancy for the not-for-profit-sector, appiChar, provides a complete range of IT services from strategy to network design and support.

Ian Ryder, managing director of appiChar says, “We are committed to improving IT in the not-for-profit sector. By becoming a sponsor of iT4C it means that we have the chance to help make a real difference to not-for-profit organisations. We are delighted to be working in partnership with iT4C and look forward to assisting them in achieving their overall mission of providing charities with skilled IT volunteers.”

In addition to the financial support provided, appiChar will look to promote iT4C among its members and customers, as well as providing the organisation with skilled volunteers as part of what it views as a long term and mutually beneficial relationship.

Announcing the 2008 IT Volunteer Awards

appiChar’s managing director, Ian Ryder, will also be one of the judges for this year’s IT Volunteering Awards, which celebrate the best and most innovative IT volunteering projects.

All charitable organisations are invited to nominate their project or volunteer by the closing date of Friday 19 December 2008. The awards will be presented on Thursday 19 February 2009 at the British Computer Society in London.

The categories for this year’s awards are:

- Best IT Volunteer – For the IT volunteer who has really made a difference to their organisation;

- Best IT Volunteering Project – Impact on Organisations – This award will be given jointly to a volunteer and a charity who have worked together to create a significant impact on the way the organisation functions;

- Best IT Volunteering Project – Innovation – Awarded jointly to the volunteer and charity who have worked together on a successful and innovative project;

- Best Accessible IT Volunteering Project – This will be awarded to the volunteer and organisation who have worked together on a project that used IT to have a direct positive impact for people with disabilities.

The full judging panel is made up of: Jo Connell, ITC’s Master; Nigel Lewis, chief executive of AbilityNet; John Oates, author at The Register; Allan Pollard, president of the British Computer Society; Jonathan Soar’ ITC panels warden and charitable operations chair and Terry Stokes, ICT director for lasa.