In these times of great uncertainty, we have created a platform to connect people and organisations who would like help, with wonderful volunteers who are able to help them, that they can choose from. This way it is easy and secure for all involved - the volunteers offering support and people and organisations looking for help.
We put safety first and ensure it is quick & hassle-free to register.
Printable postcards/flyers
Please print the shareable flyers below and post them through your nearby neighbours letters boxes or to anyone you think would be keen to volunteer to offer help or is looking for help:
Our network has two focuses:
1. We focus on connecting volunteers to existing networks and organisations around the world that are supporting people in their local area or areas where they can help depending on where they are based. In addition to new groups of volunteer efforts that have been set up during this crisis, existing organisations from care homes and homeless shelters to foodbanks, refugee camps and more, will also now need more help from volunteers than ever before with ever greater amounts of pressure being put on them.
2. We directly connect people who would like help with those who can provide it in a more secure way that protects privacy and allows them flexibility to find support that maps their needs.
Areas where volunteers can help include non-contact errands such as:
• assistance with getting and delivering groceries,
• the collection and delivery of prescriptions and medicine,
• the collection and delivering of post or things for the post office,
• good company in the form of calls to check in or video conferencing,
• help with walking pets etc., assistance with transport (such as booking transports to take to hospital appointments or in certain cases driving),
• donation of supplies or food parcels/care packages
• and more, all using safe non-contact methods and following international and national hygiene guidelines.
The tasks do not have to be huge things, but even a little bit of help will go a long way towards helping others in these difficult times of need.
How does it work?
1. If you are a volunteer, the first step is to sign up here. It only takes a few minutes and you will be asked to provide some personal and contact information, ways that you’d like to help and any preferences you may have, as well as to write something brief about yourself. Please make any message personal and welcoming! Don’t worry, we will not display your personal and contact information anywhere publicly and you are the only one who can choose to share it with people you help.
2. Once you’re signed up, you’ll be able to see your dashboard which should consist of the organisations around your area (you can adjust the range) that you can join or contact as well as the people who want support that you can help. There are three main sections in your dashboard: ‘My Info’, ‘Search Organisations’ and ‘My Help Requests’. After filling in the ‘My Info’ form, you will be signed up to help others. As soon as you sign up, your initials, distance from the help-seeker as well as your bio and the help type(s) you’d like to offer will show up on the dashboards of those seeking help that is in your area and is looking for someone like you to help them out. Should your availability or the type of help you would like to provide change, you can make updates by editing the information in the ‘My Info’ section.
3. To ensure we protect the safety of potentially vulnerable people looking for help you cannot see them directly until they request for you to help them. However, when it comes to organisations, you will be able to view them in the ‘Search for Organisations’ tab. Please enter the location you would like to base the search around as well as the distance from that location. You will then be shown all of the relevant organisations that you can get involved with, up to the indicated distance away from the location you provided.
4. Once someone sends you a request, you will receive an email notifying you of this. When you login to the platform, you’ll be able to see it in your dashboard in the ‘My Help Requests’ section. You can pick one of the following three options once you see the details of the request by clicking on the ‘Take Action on this help request’ dropdown bar: accepting so you are put in touch, declining or making the request as closed.
5. If you decide to accept an organisation’s help request, the organisation will be notified of your acceptance via email and should contact you shortly.
6. Once you have completed a request or if there is no longer any need for it, you can click on ‘Take Action on this help request’ and mark it as closed. If there is any problem, you can also report someone by clicking on the ‘Report’ button at the bottom of your dashboard page.
7. Please make sure that you are following the guidelines (LINK) and that you’re being considerate to those you are communicating with. Please also ensure that you are following our platform’s strict guidelines around no physical interaction helping to ensure everyone’s safety.
GUIDELINES
USEFUL RESOURCES HERE
