How an app helps us shop in solidarity

From 23 March, COVID-19 also imposed nationwide exit and contact restrictions in Germany for a few weeks. In the middle of the lockdown, a group of social entrepreneurs* and volunteers decided to become active and make their very own contribution to neighbourhood help. They developed the “Bring&Ring” app, a platform for private individuals to coordinate shopping assistance. The knodel foundation accompanied the development process and supported the volunteer developers financially with their project. Furthermore, the project was supported by private donations.

Background information

The app arose from the need to provide support for those who, due to COVID-19 or the protective measures taken, are unable to move outside the home without outside help. This is because not all people can fall back on neighbours* and family in times of restricted access or contact. This does not only affect people in risk groups, but also, for example, their relatives, single parents in the home office or people in systemically important professions. What could these people need? What could relieve them? This is how the idea of a neighbourly delivery and collection service came about.

How does the Bring & Ring app work?

Every person who cannot or should not leave the house can load their shopping list into the app. Volunteers carry out the shopping and then place it on the doorstep of the person placing the order. The service is free of charge, the shopping can be paid via the app and a tip can be given on a voluntary basis as a thank you. The app is free of charge and enables completely contactless shopping including the organisation and processing of payment transactions. With the help of the app, everyone is using digital means to help each other and stay healthy – even outside the Corona crisis.

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Commitment to the holistic promotion of young people

Free development in a safe environment

With the establishment of sustainable sports education centres, the AMANDLA organisation focuses on supporting and promoting young people. In the so-called Safe-Hubs®, all participants* can freely develop their potential, regardless of their origin, socialisation or gender. The aim is to offer them a place of safety where they can receive support in the areas of health, education and personal development within the framework of the football sports centre.

AMANDLA currently operates four such Safe-Hubs® in structurally weak regions of South Africa, and others are under construction and in planning. Every week, around 1500 children and young people take part in the various activities offered by the individual training centres. The knodel foundation supports the Safe-Hub® in Gugulethu-Manenberg near Cape Town in developing solutions for the sustainable use of modern energy, water management and sustainable agriculture.

An opportunity for education and training for people with disabilities

The Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center of Herrnhuter Missionshilfe in Ramallah, Palestine supports, cares for, and promotes people with mental and/or physical disabilities. Part of the center is an integrative kindergarten, a special school, and a vocational support center. The aim is to provide people with access to education and training as well as rehabilitation and thus also to promote integration and inclusion. The center’s holistic programme is thus intended to contribute to changing the awareness in society of the rights of people with disabilities.

For this reason, the Center offers special educational, physio- and occupational therapy services for people with disabilities of all ages, as well as support for their families. Social workers, physiotherapists and art therapists encourage the families concerned through home visits and thus contribute to the social integration of people with disabilities into society. The Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center is mainly financed by donations. However, smaller activities and agricultural projects of the vocational school students* also contribute to the fact that the work of the facility can be financed additionally.

Enriching the public debate with crowd-financed advertising space

The non-profit crowdfunding platform Spreadwords rents advertising space throughout Germany to introduce socially relevant topics into the public debate. The aim is to enrich public opinion through campaigns on topics such as international understanding, animal rights, sustainability and awareness raising. The knodel foundation supports them in this project.

The proposed topics, the design as well as the financing of the campaigns are completely done by the audience. To involve younger generations in social debates and to enable them to experience self-efficacy, Spreadwords wants to introduce them to the topics behind the campaigns. These campaigns are to be developed and implemented in cooperation with school and university projects.

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