WaveLength
| Formation | 1939 |
|---|---|
| Founder | |
| Location | |
| Services | Providing televisions, radios, and tablets to those in need |
| Website | wavelength |
WaveLength, previously known as Wireless for the Bedridden Society and W4B, is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom, set up to work with people experiencing social isolation.
History
The charity was founded after Charles Stonebridge gave an address to his local
The society went into hibernation during the
2010–present
As its original name became outdated, the charity became known as W4B. In 2010, the charity took on the larger name of ‘WaveLength’. WaveLength incorporates the digital, as well as analogue devices that it provides, and a possible expansion into internet provision.[4]
WaveLength has worked with Women's Aid to give TVs, radios, and DVD players to domestic violence refuges across the country. It also provides TVs to centres helping victims of torture.
Alongside the gift of technology, the charity also aims to provide a voice to vulnerable people through advocacy. WaveLength has been involved in several consumer forums including the Consumer Expert Group, and has testified before the
Representatives of the
As of 2014, the charity had started providing tablet computers to lonely and isolated people living in poverty, as well as radios and TVs.
Policy interventions
In 2017, WaveLength and the BBC collaborated to protect women and men living in Domestic Abuse refuges. The rules affecting television licenses in refuges had long been unclear and impractical. The policy change meant that everyone living in a refuge is now covered by one communal license. Refuges are now eligible for the same rules as hospitals and hotels, which allow all residents to share one licence regardless of how long they stay or how many residents there are at once. By changing this policy, more abuse survivors can benefit from a TV of their own during their time in refuge.
Charity theme tune
In 2011 WaveLength became the first UK charity to have its own ringtone theme tune, or 'audible signature'.[6] This was created and donated by Andy Cato of Groove Armada. Cato calls music the 'universal language', and says that he created the ringtone because it was a chance to make a 'specific contribution' to a cause. The tune 'conveyed a sense of hopefulness. It was then a question of adding a melody, which has the potential to be emblematic in a short space of time.'[7]
References
- ^ ['Charity minutes', internal minutes, 1938]
- ^ ["Bedside world", Vol.1 No.21 Christmas 1968]
- ^ ['BBC written archives, Charity Commission and Charities minutes', letters to the BBC, revisitation, internal minutes, 1938]
- ^ "Charity Commission", letters to the BBC and internal minutes, 1938
- ^ "Digital switchover of television and radio in the United Kingdom: Report with Evidence" (PDF). 29 March 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "Andy Cato creates first theme tune for UK charity". WaveLength. 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
- ^ "Interview with Andy Cato". WaveLength. 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2017-06-29.