Currently, in an attempt to slow down the progress of Covid-19 infection, the Polish government and health advise citizens to self-isolate. To offer assistance to some of the most vulnerable citizens, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation has launched an online platform, which will connect people seeking support with volunteers and activists.
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation relies on the work and commitment of hundreds of thousands volunteers and activists, who are eager to offer their support to people, who are the most vulnerable to the new coronavirus. The charity received many signals that local Peace Patrol volunteers and activists from Collection Centres are ready to help the elderly, and people with pre-existing conditions in day-to-day tasks. The errands the volunteers are prepared to take up include shopping, dog walking, and other essential chores, which would require breaking self-isolation. On the other hand, the Foundation received many requests for help. To address this, we have launched an online platform, which connects local volunteers with people looking for help.
We decided to focus on connecting people on a regional level. Volunteers can submit requests for help and offers of support via our online platform. After the messages have been verified, the locations of volunteers are displayed on the interactive map.
The initiative was launched on March 16th, and since then, (update as of March 20th) we received information from 669 people who are ready to help. One hundred nineteen tasks have been completed, while the average time between the request for help and the response is 35 minutes. We have also received applications from the members of the Polish community abroad: Germany, Belgium, and the UK, who declared their desire to help their neighbours. We continue to stress the importance of volunteer's safety.
