toob, a full-fibre broadband provider headquartered in Portsmouth serving over 60,000 customers, has donated its 900 Mbps service to support a local community centre in Gosport. The Freedom Centre, located on Netherton Road, is run by Freedom Church and home to various community activities which has quickly become a hub for everyone in the community – including young people who need a place to study.    

The Freedom Centre, which is run by Freedom Church, is funded wholly through charitable donations and is expensive to run and maintain. Much of the centre has needed extensive repairs and has recently been under renovation, with volunteers working tirelessly alongside the Trustee of Freedom Church, Mike Jenkings, to improve the building and create a much-needed community hub in the Elson area of Gosport.   

Knowing that the Freedom Centre is a digital lifeline for many of its users, Mike was keen to upgrade its broadband. The existing connection was slow and unreliable, not able to stretch throughout the building, and as a satisfied toob customer, Mike reached out to toob to ask if they might be able to help with upgrading the Freedom Centre’s digital capabilities.    

On hearing about the Freedom Centre’s important work and how central it is to the community, toob organised installation straight away, donating a full-fibre 900 Mbps service to the centre – helping to keep the community digitally connected and supporting the valuable work at the facility.    

Nick Parbutt, CEO, toob, said, ‘I am always delighted when toob is able to give back to the communities where we operate, and The Freedom Centre is a valuable hub that supports the residents of the area. We believe full-fibre broadband should be accessible for all, and we are delighted we could help Mike and all the great work The Freedom Centre do.’  

Mike Jenkings, Trustee, Freedom Church, said, ‘It’s fantastic news that toob has been able to donate a connection to The Freedom Centre. High speed, reliable broadband access is vital for many of our groups to run. It will help young people who can’t otherwise get online for their schoolwork, our Scout groups, and other organisations. The connection is fast and reliable, which is just what we need, with many devices able to connect at the same time. We’re very thankful for this generous donation; it will make a huge difference to all our centre users.’ 

This is not the first time toob has worked to support its communities and it is determined to continue with his work. To date, toob has been involved in supporting charitable organisations through events, sponsorships and fundraising, collecting more than £7,000 for local charity Solent Mind. toob also sponsored firefighters, Stuart Vince and Craig Sadler, who raised £16k for The Firefighters Charity and Mind by rowing across the Atlantic.   

toob continues to sponsor local community radio station Unity 101 and over the years, toob employees have taken part in the Great South Run and an open water swim in the Solent. CEO Nick Parbutt and CFO Mike Banwell have also taken on extreme challenges by abseiling the iconic Spinnaker tower and completing a 100km extreme trek in 30 hours, all in the name of charity fundraising.