iT4C matches web designer volunteer in Australia for UK charity

The Theatre Royal Stratford East has had its website improved by a professional web designer who volunteered via iT4Communities (iT4C), the national IT volunteering programme. In fact, the volunteer was based in Australia.

Silvia Pilotto, senior marketing officer for the Theatre Royal Stratford East explained: "As a theatre we don't have a lot of budget for things such as website maintenance, so I was looking for a way that we could get the help we needed without having to pay consultancy fees that the theatre could ill afford."

Pilotto found iT4C by searching the Internet, and iT4C was able quickly to locate a relevant volunteer. Jason King carried out an online health check on the Theatre Royal's website from Australia and made a series of recommendations.

"This sort of practical advice was invaluable to us", said Pilotto, "and although it has not been possible to carry out an accessibility check yet, it is definitely something I plan to undertake in the future".

King also recommended that the theatre take advantage of Google Analytics. "Although we already had a statistical tool, we have found this much more reliable," added Pilotto.

King commented: "Virtual volunteering worked well for me. It was a short, simple and well-defined volunteering project and suited me better to give advice rather than offer practical assistance and it made a nice change to do a website health check for a theatre".

Pilotto concluded: "It may have all been basic stuff, but it was vital that these aspects are addressed, so it was great advice."

www.it4communities.org.uk