12 unusual ways & creative ideas how to bring purpose into your Corona everyday life
Now it has been almost 8 weeks since the general lock down was enforced in Germany. What was initially a state of emergency has now become a “Corona everyday life”. Probably you too have already turned your apartment upside down, finally finished things like your tax return or the planned photo album, made video calls with all kinds of relatives, friends and colleagues and scouted every green space in the surrounding area. Yawn? We feel you!
So if you are looking for new ideas, unusual possibilities or just a change in your “Corona-everyday life”, we have put together exciting projects and activities for you. With these you can not only pass the time and train your individual skills, but also do something good at the same time.
1 | DONATE YOUR COMPUTING POWER
HACKINGCORONA.DE
“Viruses are not living creatures, but information – a code that can be cracked.””
hackingcorona.de
At hackingcorona.de a group of activists and participants of the Hackathon der Bundesregierung calls on you to support the international research initiative Folding@Home. Donate the computing power of your computer for the search for a vaccine against the Corona virus.
How this works and how you can easily help from home is explained on this website. Inform yourself, download the software and donate your computing power so that we can crack the Corona virus together!
2 | COOK AGAINST ISOLATION
ÜBER DEN TELLERRAND E.V.
Since 2013 Über den Tellerand has been bringing people with and without escape experience together at the dining table. Cooking together, eating together, creating an open society together.
Since real meetings with joint cooking are currently not possible and many people feel isolated, Über den Tellerrand organises regular online cooking events. So they make it possible to meet new people and to get into good conversations about cooking and eating.
You can easily register on the website. You will be sent a recipe suggestion for cooking in advance and then sit at the table with five other people via zoom and enjoy not only good food but also exciting conversation!
3 | SUPPORT FARMERS AS HARVEST HELPERS IN THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE HARVEST
IN COOPERATION WITH THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Due to the corona crisis and the associated travel restrictions, German farmers are lacking up to 300,000 workers for the fruit and vegetable harvest.
On the platform www.daslandhilft.de you can place an advertisement where you offer your support as a harvest helper. You will then be connected with farmers in your area.
Would you also like to help secure the harvest of tons of regional fruit and vegetables?
4 | USE YOUR HACKING SKILLS
HACKTHECRISIS
Based on the online hackathon movement Hack the Crisis, CityLabBerlin has launched the Berlin Edition. The platform is designed to promote exchange in the fight against Covid-19 between health authorities, science and IT experts and enables all committed people to submit suggestions or problems that are then worked on together.
Project ideas can come from a wide variety of fields such as information, communication, social cohesion, simulation, hardware, education, culture, business or mobility.
The initiators are in direct contact with Berlin health authorities and other experts and make sure that your projects and ideas are heard.
You have a brilliant idea of your own and are still looking for team colleagues? Then you are exactly right here!
5 | “ADOPT” A HOSTEL
ADOPTAHOSTEL.COM
Hostels are places where you can meet like-minded people from all over the world, make friends, experience community and other cultures and feel at home far away from home.
To ensure that this is still the case after the Corona crisis, adoptahostel.com – a worldwide voucher campaign – was launched. By buying a voucher for a future stay in a hostel of your choice, you can help save an industry that means a lot to many travellers. And you can ensure that meaningful travel is available in future. So where will your wanderlust take you next?
You would rather support locally in these times? You can find a lot of ideas in our blog #supportyourlocal | How to support small businesses, art & culture!
6 | MAKE A BLOOD DONATION
GERMAN RED CROSS & BAVARIAN RED CROSS
Even in times of the corona virus, the blood donation services of the German Red Cross and Bavarian Red Cross urgently need blood donations so that severely ill people and accident victims can be helped. That is why donating blood is further permitted!
Are you fit and healthy? Then make a valuable blood donation in order to ensure the further supply in hospitals! If you are uncertain, call the DRK service hotline: 0800 11 949 11. There you get information on whether you are allowed to donate blood and what the requirements are.
7 | USE YOUR TECH TALENT
DIGITAL RESPONSE GERMANY
Digital Response Deutschland is an initiative that collects volunteer tech talent and urgent needs for action with a lack of resources from the public sector and connects them after initial assessment. They find volunteers who want to use their free time or time released by their employer to help – all on a voluntary and unpaid basis.
In the meantime, a large network of qualified tech experts has been built up, who are available when needed, for example in the areas of data science, product development, design, product management, IT administration, project organization, process design, supply chains/logistics, etc.
You can contact them as a supporter, but also to ask for concrete help. All further information can be found here:
8 | SEW AND DONATE PROVISONAL RESPIRATORY MASKS
Since end of April, masks have been mandatory in local traffic and shops throughout Germany. Social institutions in particular therefore depend on support, and so the number of requests to volunteers to sew their own masks and send them to the institutions is increasing.
If you have suitable fabrics and a sewing machine at home, this is the perfect opportunity for a do-it-yourself session in quarantine. Instructions for sewing and further information on suitable fabrics have been compiled by here.
WHO NEEDS YOUR HELP?
Here you can find a list of organisations that are in desperate need of masks:
- The association Coach e.V. from Cologne, which stands up for chance and educational justice, collects self-sewn “mouth nose auxiliary masks”, in order to distribute them to children, young people and non-profit organizations. If you can sew and have the opportunity to sew at home, help provide masks to the affected risk group! You can find all further information here.
- In addition, the Zeughofstrasse refugee shelter in Berlin-Kreuzberg, with 147 women, men and children from all over the world, is looking for as many self-made protective masks as possible for its residents. For the masks they offer cotton bedding from their own stock. At the moment, 270 masks are still needed there. They are happy about every mask that you sew and send to them here.
9 | SUPPORT LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES AS A MEDICAL STUDENT
BUNDESVERBAND DER ÄRZTINNEN UND ÄRZTE DES ÖFFENTLICHEN GESUNDHEITSDIENSTES E.V. (BVÖGD)
The BVÖGD developed the volunteering platform “Medis4ÖGD” in cooperation with the Bundesvertretung der Medizinstudierenden in Deutschland e.V. (bvmd).
This has already enabled over 2,500 medical students to support their local health authorities in times of crisis. Here you will find a current list of the health authorities that have reported needs and are still looking for support. Tasks are taken over such as:
- Tracing of contact persons
- Information, care and medical checks in case of isolation at home
- Support of telephone hotlines and with data entry
In addition, the website contains numerous training materials for all supporters. Registration is very simple via the BVÖGD website. All you have to do is fill in a short questionnaire and you will be put in contact with your local health authority.
Please note: You need advanced German skills for this.
10 | EXPERIENCE TRAVEL MOMENTS FROM YOUR SOFA AND DONATE FOR A GOOD CAUSE
SOFAREISEN.ORG
Sofareisen.org has come up with a very special idea, so that we don’t have to forgo beautiful and worth seeing travel destinations and at the same time help people in need.
From 16 May onwards, travel documentaries from all over the world will be broadcast every Friday, Saturday and Sunday via livestream – a wild mix of well-known travel journalists and emerging documentary filmmakers. Although this online series is free of charge, donations are collected for charitable heart projects with social and ecological topics worldwide. On the website you will find the program and also the projects for which the donations are collected.
Would you also like to experience breathtaking travel moments from your sofa and support people in need at the same time?
11 | COMBINE YOUR JOGGING EXPERIENCE WITH A FUNDRAISING
OXFAM
If you do not only want to do something good for yourself while jogging, but also want to support many people who are in urgent need of financial support, Oxfam has set up a running team. They collect donations for every kilometer you run.
As a runner you can decide on your own what your fundraising campaign should look like. Are you a professional runner and would like to collect 10€ per kilometre while running the half marathon? Or are you a beginner and would like to be supported by friends and family for your daily five kilometres? On Oxfam.de you can publish your own campaign with your photo and donation target and everyone can donate to it.
So, start your own campaign, put on your sports shoes and run!
12 | SUPPORT FOR OVERWORKED STAFF IN THE HEALTH SECTOR
TALK2US
To support those who are currently working at full throttle every day to cope with the corona pandemic, the platform Talk2Us has taken up a cause to support overworked healthcare workers.
Are you a (prospective) psychotherapist, psychologist or psychology student in the master’s program? With your skills you can make an important contribution: On the one hand, the platform offers a discussion possibility for hospital staff in stressful situations, on the other hand, online relaxation groups, stress training and meditations are offered for them.
The primary aim is to enable staff working in the health sector to receive uncomplicated psychological advice on this platform or to be able to cope more easily with their stressful situation through stress training. If you are interested in becoming a consultant or in leading a relaxation training course, you can find out more about the requirements by clicking on the following link.
We’ll keep you up to date
Through our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitte) we present many more exciting projects and keep you up to date on interesting topics from the volunteering-world.
You know a project or an initiative that is still missing here, then let us know and write a short mail to rebekka.hesse@vostel.de!
Keep well! Your team from vostel.de ?
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