In these times of great uncertainty, we have created a platform to connect people and organisations who would like help, with wonderful people who are able to help them, that they can choose from. Not everyone has a support system in place of friends and family and there are several simple tasks that those who are high-risk or isolation cannot perform themselves. These include but are not limited to people with pre-existing health issues, the elderly, disabled people, people with mental health conditions and those in society who are most isolated. We are determined to ensure they are not left behind or forgotten and are built to coordinate care efforts. 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 food banks, 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. 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. 2 We directly connect people who would like help with those who can provide it in a more secure way that protects the privacy and allows them the flexibility to find the 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. 

For more information please visit XXX to sign up to volunteer to offer help and XXX to sign up to look for help or register as an organisation looking for help.

Now, more than ever, emergency services require a range of protective supplies and medical equipment in order to protect us. We have heard too many stories across the world of key workers being sent to the frontline without the right protection and resources as there is not enough to go around with surging global demand and traditional supply chains unable to keep up, despite the efforts of many institutions and organisations around the world. There is the added problem of bidding wars and price gouging with private sector profiteers exploiting the situation for profit and acquiring supplies to sell on at huge markups. Many lives depend on the ability for frontline staff to have adequate, safe and reliable protection and resources and we are determined to help address the problem. Together with our partner organisations we are working together to connect need to supply in order to ensure that masks and other PPE alongside life saving medical devices such as ventilators get to where they are needed most. Through a combination of our own and our partner organisations’ worldwide networks of facilitators and suppliers, we have clear access to hundreds of millions of supplies ranging from N95 masks, gloves and protective suits to point of care diagnostics tests and ventilators from across Asia, the Americas and Europe. We raise and provide risk capital to help finance purchases of critical PPE and equipment that we then distribute them to hospital systems, clinics and others in the medical sector etc. that are most in need, as well as act as a clearinghouse by connecting those who need supply with those who have it, triaging urgent needs and helping with logistics to ensure that it gets to where it is needed most as quickly as possible, so that every shipment is a life saving one. For more information please VISIT XXXXX

In these unprecedented difficult times of global crisis, we ask you to join us in a global movement to thank and show our enormous appreciation to the heroes who have dedicated themselves to helping keep us all safe by providing vital services and working on the frontline, from doctors, nurses, GPs and Pharmacists in the healthcare system to carers, emergency services workers, supermarket staff, cleaners, volunteers and more. We are all hugely grateful for their continued hard work and fight against the virus in these extraordinary circumstances. Please join us in our effort, alongside the influencers we collaborate with, to show appreciation for the heroes who have dedicated themselves to helping keep us all safe, by submitting your thank you message and/or photo/video and posting it with the hashtag #SPIRITEDTHANKS and uploading it INSERT LINK so we can ensure it is sent to different hospitals, staff, organisations etc. and shared on the wall of appreciation as a lasting tribute. Your messages, which act as emotions as a gift, will help keep up their spirits, show them how many people are thinking of and cheering for them and spur them on to keep going. With your gestures, you can brighten up people’s days and contribute positively to their wellbeing and mental health. Nothing will ever be enough to repay them the debt we owe but we hope this token of gratitude will show them how grateful we all are and that we are thinking of them on top of more transient gestures like daily clapping.

They come from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds, across the world but what unites them is their willingness to help others in times of great danger that demands courage and kindness. These heroes battle adversity each day to help us all when we’re at our most vulnerable. When we get through this crisis, and we will get through it, their efforts will be one of the most key drivers. In the face of personal risks of infection or death, they keep themselves going in harm’s way for our sakes. They are not soldiers who signed up for a career where they would knowingly give their lives but tragically some have become infected and died whilst simply doing their jobs. These ultimate sacrifices cannot be in vain. Today, more than ever, we should cherish those who dedicate themselves to our care, heedless of their own health as they work tirelessly to care for people in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. They share the same fears, uncertainties and anxieties that all of us do. They too have children at home to care for, vulnerable parents and relatives to consider, underlying health conditions to protect. But through it all, they put the safety and well-being of all of us in front of their own, working round the clock to ensure they do the best they possibly can for those under the care. They deserve the utmost appreciation and gratitude and we salute them for their service.

PLEASE VISIT XXXXX

In addition to providing support addressing the most pressing immediate needs in this crisis, we also seek to advocate for longer-term structural improvements that strengthen resilience both to future shocks and the other challenges we face, and that lead to important, enduring societal changes which tackle key inequalities and ruptures that the crisis has so clearly exposed. The three main categories we are focussing on are:

1. Strengthening healthcare systems and pandemic preparedness, coupled with public health reforms around mental health and better working conditions and pay for essential workers. 

2. Harnessing the current momentum to encourage a global youth led movement towards greater volunteering participation and community engagement efforts as well actively supporting and including young people in the rebuilding of our societies 

3. Addressing the major inequalities that are being exacerbated both by the pandemic and the response to it, with the goal of rebuilding a better, more inclusive and healthier planet for everyone and the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

It’s time to hit refresh and rebuild for a better, more inclusive, more sustainable, fairer, healthier, peaceful and prosperous future for all. This is the opportunity of a lifetime to improve the lifetimes of so many. 

PLEASE VISIT XXXXX to learn more