6 Ways to Use SignUp During the Coronavirus Emergency
"Look for Helpers. You can always find people who are helping." - Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers)
SignUp is Here to Help
- Plan meal circles & errand runs. Help elderly and fragile neighbors by dropping off food and care packages, and signing up to run errands for them. Use SignUp to take turns cooking and freezing meals, and helping neighbors with (online) grocery and drug store orders. Be sure to ask recipients to put out coolers or some other type of container to receive goods so no direct contact is necessary.
- Mobilize school meal volunteers. Organize helpers to prep, package and distribute breakfast and lunch to kids who can’t be served due to school closures. Set up a drive-through line to hand out the meals in paper bags to avoid prolonged contact with those picking up.
- Continue providing education. Schedule online and/or phone student tutoring and lessons with teachers, TAs and tutors. Tools such as Zoom and Google Hangouts are great options for free online video conferencing.
- Schedule child care. Healthcare workers, first-responders and others on the front line need trusted, safe child-care for their kids. Engage teachers, daycare workers, college students and other background-checked caregivers under the age of 50 in your neighborhood to sign up for babysitting shifts. Be sure to enable the Swap feature if a caregiver gets sick or needs to isolate themselves.
- Connect organizations with mask-makers. Take orders from frontline organizations that are in need of protective masks and ask sewers to sign up to fill those orders (like the Masks for the Frontlines Iowa group).
- Staff coronavirus response teams. Nonprofit and municipal leaders are on the front lines scheduling staff for testing stations, food banks, community call centers, sanitizing and emergency services teams.
PRO TIP: Be sure to hold on to your reports in case they are needed for contact tracing purposes.
