- The Guardian,
- Wednesday December 14, 2005
Like many of the best charities, Mattdotcom was born out of personal experience and launched from the kitchen table of the family home. Matthew Harding-Price was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 16 in 2000. His hospital's school provided access to computers - but only in school hours between 9am and 3.30pm. The rest of the time they were locked away.
Matt thought this was daft. As he told his father only half-jokingly, teenagers only start waking up at that hour. He wanted time to do his homework and time to communicate by email with his friends. These friends rallied round, raised £1,500 to buy a laptop, and gave it to the hospital on condition that Matt had first choice.
But once again the machine got locked away at 3.30pm. Undeterred, Matt appealed to his parents for help to set up a charity to give teenagers in hospital with cancer a laptop. His mother said a small charity could not afford to give them away but thought loaning them would be possible. Thus was Mattdotcom born, with Matthew, who died in 2004, as its first president.
Today, no longer confined to cancer patients, the charity (www.mattdotcom.org.uk) is letting out 35 computers to teenagers in a 50-mile radius around Lincoln. Homework is being completed but access to the internet via hospital lines is still limited. As Matt's father said, the work isn't finished: wider coverage and internet access are needed. Yesterday Mattdotcom was one of five winners in this year's Guardian charity awards.
