New ‘Be Kind RI’ Volunteer Platform Kicks Off Statewide
Be Kind RI Volunteer Platform Officially Launched with Mayor Jorge Elorza
New partnership between FSRI, Age-Friendly RI, Rhode Island Community Food Bank, and Nesterly makes volunteering easy.
PROVIDENCE, RI — As one in four Rhode Islanders experience barriers to accessing food, a new statewide volunteering program called Be Kind RI hopes to make it easier to help. A partnership between Age-Friendly Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Family Service of RI, and Nesterly Inc, Be Kind RI uses technology to link volunteers with neighbors in need.
Unlike other volunteer programs, Be Kind RI is 100% free to use and hyper-local, so Rhode Islanders can opt to do a service project in their neighborhoods, or a nearby one– on their own schedules. The site launched with a focus on food access needs, with plans to expand into additional volunteering opportunities in the near future.
Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza was on hand to help officially kick off the statewide platform with all of the program’s partners on Monday.
“Last year, I received many calls from people asking how they can help the city or neighbors in need,” said Mayor Jorge O. Elorza. With Be Kind RI, there is one place for people to go to and sign up to make a difference whenever and wherever they can.”
The fact that so many Rhode Islanders were experiencing food insecurity made it a top priority with the site launch, said Age-Friendly RI Executive Director Catherine Taylor.
“Be Kind RI takes three problems: isolated older adults and COVID-19 affected individuals and families in need of food access support; food pantries and FSRI Be Safe Plus boxes in need of volunteer delivery; and neighbors needing a way to make a meaningful impact in these upside-down times – and puts them together in one solution for all,” said Catherine Taylor, Executive Director of Age-Friendly RI. “We hope that relationships are formed that eventually go offline – building the community we all so badly need right now.”
The partnership was a natural one for Rhode Island Community Food Bank, who now has over 30 pantries in RI signed on to participate in the program.
“I’m excited that we’ve been able to partner with our friends at Family Service of Rhode Island and Age-Friendly Rhode Island to increase access to food by launching a new service that will help get groceries into the homes of those who need it most,” said Andrew Schiff, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “It’s one more option in the food safety net.”
“We’ve had to be separated from one another for so long out of necessity for over a year now. While that distance between us has kept us safe, it also exposed a deep sense of loneliness for so many of us. We didn’t appreciate those small connections between us until they were gone,” said Margaret Holland McDuff, CEO of Family Service of Rhode Island. “But that sense of disconnection that the pandemic brought has also challenged us here at FSRI to find new ways to serve Rhode Islanders, to make our communities safer, kinder, and more equitable.”
Technology partner Nesterly is a social enterprise whose mission is to build intergenerational connections while increasing access to affordable housing. Nesterly has won over a dozen awards and has been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, Fast Company, The Atlantic, Forbes, and NPR’s Marketplace.”We’ve seen this technology unite volunteer efforts in Boston to complete thousands of critical requests,” said Noelle Marcus, CEO, and Founder of Nesterly. “We’re proud to continue to shine a light on the incredible generosity and resiliency of the people in our cities and honored to be able to collaborate with Family Service of Rhode Island, Age-Friendly Rhode Island, and Rhode Island Community Food Bank, to bring this critical service to the state of Rhode Island.”
One early volunteer said he’s excited about what the technology can offer Rhode Islanders and plans to continue volunteering through the service.
“I signed up because there is something that feels so good about knowing that a simple task like making a few stops around the state can feed a family for a week,” said Be Kind RI volunteer Zach Krase, 27 of North Providence. “I have been able to help provide feedback to the team working on this service to make it easier and more accessible for those in need, as well as improve the ease of use for my fellow volunteers.”
About Be Kind RI:
Brought to Rhode Island through an innovative partnership between Age-Friendly Rhode Island, the RI Community Food Bank, and Family Service of Rhode Island, Be Kind RI is a technology platform developed by Nesterly, Inc. that works similar to a dating site, matching volunteers with neighbors in need. By utilizing text alerts, Be Kind RI is first tackling the hunger crisis in our state, as more than 25% of Rhode Islanders experience food insecurity, with plans to expand into other volunteer services over time.
Here’s how it works:
Volunteers register and define where and when they can lend a helping hand.
An individual in need places a food delivery request and a text request is sent out to surrounding volunteers that can help.
Volunteers can either accept or pass on the request. If it’s passed, it goes to the next volunteer on the text/SMS list — no hard feelings!
Requester and volunteer coordinate on the delivery.
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