It’s times like these when we see the greatest expressions of our compassion for one another. As a company dedicated to making group organizing easy, we have a front-row seat to the movie that is playing before us. In the midst of all the negative news, we feel privileged to see the strength of the human spirit overcoming such challenging times.
People are creating signups to gather volunteer pen-pals for self-quarantined seniors. They’re creating signups for virtual dinners via Group FaceTime or Zoom. They’re using our Signup Tool to cover desk duty at schools. We’re seeing N95 fit testing signups for emergency medical workers, signups to deliver meals to seniors and vulnerable people, and 24-hour prayer signups from faith organizations.
In short, Americans are doing two things that we do really well: We’re finding innovative solutions to problems, and we’re helping our fellow human beings.
Please remember that our Tools have NO ads. Never have, never will. We do not want people confused or distracted when they’re trying to sign up.
Ideas for what you can do to help (click on the pink text to view examples):
- Pen-pals for quarantined seniors: Your kids can practice writing and the lost art of penmanship by corresponding with a senior the old-fashioned way. Get a list with names and addresses from local senior centers, hospitals, or within your church/synagogue or neighborhood. Get all the parent’s of kids in your child’s classroom to sign up for a pen-pal. You can then send out the addresses via our messaging feature once everyone has signed up. Extra bonus: This will occupy your home-bound children for a while!
- Create a DIY face mask virtual assembly line: Not all of us know how to sew, but most of us can cut fabric or order fabric online or drive a car to drop off materials to someone who can sew. This is a great opportunity to take the plunge and start helping your community during this crisis. Start by creating a DIY face mask virtual assembly line using our Signup Tool. People want to help, and by dividing up the responsibilities, you can provide them with the opportunity to dive in.
- Meals-on-Wheels: Do a search for a local Meals-on-Wheels organization. Sign up to help. Offer to create a signup for the administrator and get it out via social media. Many of these folks are still organizing this the old-fashioned way and could use a volunteer to help automate it to bring on new digitally-oriented volunteers. I did this yesterday – it felt great!
- Create a grocery shopping or restaurant-run signup for seniors and at-risk people in your neighborhood or faith group: Create a signup for bi-weekly grocery shopping or restaurant-runs signup. People can sign up to go to the grocery store or restaurant for the individuals so that they do not risk any exposure.
- Create a signup for delivering meals to emergency medical service (EMS) and health care workers who are working double-time: They’re working for hard us, we can work hard for them. Get people in your neighborhood or faith organization to sign up for meal delivery to the EMS workers in your neighborhood. Whether it’s home cooked (by healthy people in a clean kitchen) or you pick up from a local restaurant (another great way to help keep your neighbors solvent), it will be a great relief for these folks to know that they’re coming home to a hot meal for themselves and their families.
- Create a 24-hour prayer signup: People of faith can create a 24-hour prayer signup in whatever time increments they see fit (one-hour, 30-minutes, etc) in just a couple of minutes. Coordinate with other local faith organizations to cover each day of the week or month. Not a believer? Well let’s hear it for the power of positive thought! There’s nothing wrong with spreading positive energy and goodwill into the atmosphere.
- Create a community signup: With so many kids at home, consider creating a signup for things like babysitting (obvious considerations need to be taken regarding both the babysitter’s safety and the children’s), tutoring, or reading. You could also include errand-runners for things like picking up prescriptions for seniors or at-risk neighbors.
- Gather items for people who have temporarily lost their jobs: Many families are finding themselves in unprecedented financial situations. They are in need of the basics like diapers, toilet paper, baby formula, etc.
You can make any of our Signup Lists PRIVATE. Here’s how.
Ways we can help:
Use our Signup Tool to:
- Schedule office hours with professors and teaching assistants/fellows for home-bound college students.
- Schedule lab time for universities to practice social-distancing.
- Schedule break-out sessions for conferences that have gone virtual.
- Schedule virtual interviews for new interns or new employees.
