In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many charitable initiatives have sprung up to support society throughout these difficult times. However, the sheer volume of information makes finding initiatives that are local and relevant difficult, which can be discouraging to get involved and help others. Similarly, those who would benefit from the support from such initiatives face the same problem and in many cases will not get the help they could potentially acquire.
hilferegister.org: searching and finding local support
“#hilferegister” (Help Registry) is a one-stop user-friendly platform for matching individuals with initiatives that they can either support or be supported by. The website was born during the COVID-19 pandemic, but its utility of boosting visibility for civil-society initiatives goes well beyond. Initiatives listed on “#hilferegister” range from donating money or blood to helping your neighbours or even a local farm.
Regardless of what your motivations for volunteering are, “#hilferegister” will help you find local initiatives anywhere in Germany or Austria. By indicating your preferred types of engagement, personal interest, and location, the platform assists you in finding the most relevant initiatives to you.
Charlotte von Streit shares her story on how the project idea came about,
“While being infected with COVID-19 myself, I researched ways to get engaged in my local community after my recovery. However, there was simply a lack of transparency in the jungle of emerging initiatives. That’s why we decided to create the hilferegister – a simple overview organizing offerings for everyone. The project started while I was still in quarantine, working remotely with three friends. At the time, I had no idea that within a few months our team would grow to more than 15 passionate team-members and that the platform would grow even into other countries.”
An unusual cooperation
The platform developed during the German “#WirVsVirus hackathon”, which was initiated by a corporation of the German government and actors of civil society in March of 2020. “#hilferegister” is an exemplary initiative that demonstrates not only what a hackathon can accomplish but further illustrates what civic participation in processes of digital transformation can accomplish.
Patrick Rövekamp explains,
“During the 48h of the #WirVsVirus Hackathon, we sprinted to launch the corona-compass. After Charlotte and Thilo got in touch with me, it was evident that we shared the same vision and we immediately decided to join forces to create one central platform. We merged the corona-compass with the hilferegister and have continued to grow as a strong team. I am proud to be part of this engaged and diverse team, all investing their spare time to build a long-lasting impact by effectively matching volunteers with initiatives.”
The crisis and beyond
Following the launch in late March, “#hilferegister” won the PWC COVID-19 Innovation Challenge and was admitted to the “#WirVsVirus SolutionEnabler” implementation programme by the social accelerator “Project Together“, under the patronage of the German federal chancellery, and supported by the Vodafone Institute. The project further participated in the EU Commissions “#EUvsVIRUS” hackathon, where it was awarded second place in its respective hackathon category.
Beyond the current crisis, “#hilferegister” will evolve to become a central portal to volunteering, targeting students and young professionals in particular. Furthermore, “#hilferegister” has further created an international alliance with partner-organizations in Malaysia, India, Spain, Portugal, Peru, Mexico, and Brazil to build a global directory for volunteering and will be launching a joint landing-page in the coming weeks.
About the “#WirVsVirus Solution Enabler” programme
The “#WirVsVirus Solution Enabler” is a six-months implementation programme for 130 selected innovative solutions developed for coronavirus-related challenges. The programme that is supported by the Vodafone Institute with startup funding, know-how and digital expertise, encourages projects from 12 action fields, such as health, everyday life and crisis management, to successfully implement their solutions on a broad scale. The Institute supports the project teams with individually tailored support by providing access to the Vodafone corporate network. Particularly the startup programme Vodafone UPLIFT with their PACESETTER offering supports the teams in the areas of IT infrastructure, public cloud, IoT solutions and individual consulting. The programme under the patronage of the Federal Chancellery has started working with the projects on April 8 of 2020. Find further information here.