COVID-19, the disease cause by the coronavirus, has spread to every continent besides Antarctica, showing the pandemic and ensuing fallout isn’t limited to one country or region. However, in this age of digital connectivity, companies from one corner of the globe can still help others across oceans and continents.
With the support of a network of entrepreneurs and investors, a local social impact startup is launching its volunteer platform for free to help communities and organizations in need.
“This crisis is inspiring people to take care of one another, and there is an explosion of grassroots efforts to organize willing helpers on email, listservs and social media,” said Rob Peabody, founder and CEO of VOMO, in a prepared statement.
McKinney-based VOMO, short for volunteer movement, was launched in 2017 with the mission of helping nonprofits, government agencies and other community organizations create a larger impact in their local areas. The company’s platform gives organizations the software tools to begin projects, connect with local volunteers and track the impact of their mission.
They noticed many were affected by sickness, lost wages and caretaking, creating an increased demand for volunteers at food and blood banks due to lack of volunteers and increased demand of their services.
One of the many partnerships that has grown from VOMO’s business was in 2019, with Sony Pictures on the film “A Beautiful Day,” about Mr. Rogers. The company created the Be a Neighbor Campaign in-line with Rogers’ philosophy to allow people to connect with volunteer opportunities in their area for free. Now, VOMO is rolling that back out. This time, offering its National Volunteer Platform for free worldwide.
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“We’ve spent the last three years building and perfecting the very thing communities, organizations and neighborhoods need to mobilize volunteers efficiently and appropriately around critical needs. In this challenging moment, we want to make it available for everyone to use for free,” Peabody said in a prepared statement.
VOMO is able to do this and redirect the necessary staff through support by Builders + Backers, a social impact network of investors, donors and entrepreneurs, along with support from the National Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is a fiscal sponsor of the Be A Neighbor Campaign.
VOMO hopes that by doing so, it will be able to help slow the spread of coronavirus, by allowing organizations to find volunteers without having to go through grassroots efforts and networks, which could expose people to the virus. It also hopes that it will be able to help more people and organizations both locally and across the world.
“It’s crystal clear from my conversations with city and county officials and healthcare leaders that we are going to need to mobilize an enormous number of volunteers to weather this crisis,” said Donna Harris, general partner of 1776 Ventures and founder of Builders + Backers, in a prepared statement. “We need grassroots efforts to gather a national bank of ready volunteers. And we need a means to take direction from frontline organizations trained in appropriate responses in the face of a pandemic.”
Organizations interested in being a part of the campaign can visit beaneighborcampaign.com to create an account and connect on the platform to find existing volunteers or create projects that anyone can sign up to help out with. People using the platform will be able to see both in-person and remote opportunities in their communities and sign up to serve.
