CONNECT ME
connecting families in need with families who can help
The Concept
Connecting families in need with families, businesses and individuals who can help
The idea of Connect Me is a web based platform bringing families and individuals in need, together with families, individuals and businesses who are in a position to help others have a better quality of life by donating their time, resources and support.
Helping hands
Who can use Connect Me?
Connect Me will be developed as a person to person contact site where those who are offering to help can list the type of help - food, transport, household items, clothing, sporting goods, fees, - literally any number of things - and whether help offered is a one off, ongoing, in a specific area or looking to support a family or individual with a specific set of circumstances.
Needing help
Who will the recipients be?
The intended recipients will be working class families and individuals who are looking for a helping hand.
People who have fallen on hard times, struggling to make ends meet, suffered losses - who just need some support and assistance to help improve their lives and the lives of their families.
The Platform
Why will Connect Me appeal to donors?
The growth of donation pages and the amazing results of call to action appeals on current affairs TV shows that many people are so willing to help others if they can put a face and a name to the story.
Many don't know where or how to actually find people that need the help they can offer so Connect Me will offer a platform where those who wish to do good, with their time, money or other resources, can find a family or individual that they can make a difference to.
Support
What sort of support could be offered?
Individuals, families or businesses can help other families or individuals enjoy a better way of life in a myriad of ways. Some families may just need a little bit of help getting through a lean time, or ongoing help to make their home and life a little less stressful and a lot more enjoyable.
Examples of what donors could offer...
HELP WITH FOOD
A one off pantry staple top up, grocery vouchers at Christmas to help with extra treats, food for school lunches ongoing, home cooked dinners for freezing.
CLOTHING
Donations of preloved good condition clothing for adults and children, pay for school uniforms, provide shoes for a family, warm weather wear. New clothing a couple times a year, work outfits, etc.
HOME
Help with warming up homes for winter - power credits, winter bedding, pjs and slippers, provide heating, donate toys and beds, help with appliance repairs or replacements.
TRANSPORT
An annual car registration, petrol vouchers, bus card top up, a lift to the grocery store, kids to sport.
SPORTING
Offer to pay for a child's sports subs for a season with all the gear, sponsor a whole team's fees, pay for a team's sports uniform or footwear, donate good quality sports gear.
TIME
Offer time - support, transport, mentoring, job support, tuition.
Here's how
How will Connect Me work?
Connect Me is about bringing real people together - people that genuinely want to help, with people who genuinely need help, in a more personal manner.
Help Offered will just be listed much in the way a situations wanted would be advertised. You can post a listing with what help you are offering - is it a one off, does it need to be someone in your area, would it be specific to an age and gender, is it ongoing help, more than one person or family, etc.
On the other side, people can list a Help Needed with the same sort of criteria. The level of contact from there on in will be between the two parties - as the donor, it will be up to you to set the level of contact you are happy to engage in and how your offer can be taken up.
The website itself will show 'help wanted' and 'help needed' but an account setup will be required before any contact details are given out either way to protect all parties privacy.
Third party agencies are welcome to post on behalf of their clients in need, with their permission, if this is an option.
There will be functionality to moderate donors and recipients to ensure the integrity of the interactions.
Thank you for taking the time to read about
Connect Me!
How can you help? Click here to find out more...
Contact
Gerry Shackleton
25D Marriner St, Sumner
Christchurch 8081
021349388
gerry@connectme.net.nz