Like so many others, when physical distancing came into play several months ago, the women each felt the urgency to do something for those in Toronto, particularly women, who they realized would be dramatically impacted by these changes. According to their research provided, domestic violence related calls to support services have increased at an alarming rate of 300% to 400%. “We wanted to find a sustainable way to garner long term support for shelters across the GTA,” said Jessica Green. “Most have been hit hard due to a pandemic-related surge in poverty, homelessness, and domestic violence (bed and meal needs, for instance, have multiplied). Ironically, public health warns that one’s home is the safest place to be right now, but not everyone has the luxury of a home with access to hygiene and the opportunity to physical distance. Not to mention, for people who are trapped at home with an abuser, home is actually not the safest place to be right now. As a result, social support organizations are operating at capacity, over-budget, and in need of essential items like never before.”

In response, Jessica Green, Lindsay Detsky, Fern Brody, Leah Potash and Erica Berlin created #one2give. Their mandate is very simple: to change the donation mindset from large-but-finite to small-and-sustainable.

They also recognized that many charities are asking for donations more so than ever. But the idea of #one2give was to not overstretch people at this time. Instead, they encourage any amount of in-kind support that would hopefully pave a path to future giving.

“Our goal was not necessarily to raise a lot of money, but rather to change people’s habits and mindsets. We envision a community where people incorporate giving into their daily routine. We hope that by engaging as many people as possible, we will garner long-term support for many shelters, long after COVID-19 has resolved and many of our lives return to normal,” said Green.

So, what makes this charity different? Green tells us each month, #one2give selects a partner organization and answers its simple – but critical – list of needs. These needs (such as soap, toothpaste or cleaning supplies) are often on most shopping lists, so #one2give asks donors to add two of any item to their cart: one to keep and #one2give.

“Everyone should have access to these basic items — no one should ever have to choose between sanitary hygiene and food. And yet, here we are, with thousands of people having to make these decisions. In our small, grassroots way, we’re trying to say you are worthy of these things,” said Green.

We like this idea of sharing the giving amongst a variety of shelters and organizations in the city. It offers up an opportunity to learn more about our communities and how their services are provided to those in need.

“Based on the success of the movement’s first month in support of Nellie’s Shelter for women and children leaving situations of violence and poverty, #one2give will be an ongoing initiative,” said Green. “This month, we are working with Sistering, a multi-service agency for at-risk, socially isolated women and trans people in Toronto who are homeless or precariously housed.”

With the pandemic still active and the sensitivity of having in-kind items donated in the most hygienic way what should we know when we’re getting ready to give? Green tells us that they consult with the partner organizations. “It’s so important to us to work in partnership with these shelters, and we structure our campaign based around their current safety protocols.” For example, in their current partnership with Sistering, they can only accept brand new products that have been requested by the shelter and can be disinfected upon delivery.

In addition, they’ve set up 13 contactless Drop Spots around the city, where people can safely donate items and do so with safe physical distancing. For those who want to donate, but are unable to leave their homes, they’ve also arranged for volunteer drivers for contactless pick-ups. Another way to give is through gift cards as they can be easily disinfected and give Sistering’s participants the opportunity to purchase based on individual needs.

So, how does #one2give decide which organizations to donate to? “There are so many organizations that do vital work across the GTA that it’s not easy to make a decision,” said Green. “The #one2give team has focused on agencies that service women and other particularly vulnerable communities, such as children and trans people. In addition to selecting partners that have experienced an increase in need due to staying open throughout the pandemic, one criteria is that partner agencies have the space to accommodate a large influx of supplies.”

The #one2give initiative is currently servicing Toronto organizations but are hoping to expand outside of the city with like-minded volunteers.

To keep informed about the organizations they are partnering with and where to donate, follow the #one2give on Instagram – they have a few posts there. You can also reach out if you’re interested in joining the movement to a Drop Spot. They can be reached at one2givetoronto@gmail.com.

The next contactless donation drop off :

Where: Sistering (957 Bloor St. W.)
When: June 8 from 12pm to 2pm

The post #One2Give now accepting much needed essentials for Toronto shelters appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

The six charities that took part this year included The 519, Committed to the health, happiness and inclusion of the LGBTQ community in Toronto; CEE (Careers, Education, Empowerment, a group dedicated to addressing economic issues affecting black youth in Toronto; Inspire, an Indigenous-led charity that improves Indigenous youth’s access to education; Kids Help Phone, a National community supporting young people; Sistering, a women’s organisation that offers practical and emotional support through various programs and the charity that I was the judge for, Autism Ontario, one of the largest collective voices representing the autism community in Canada.

Each of the charities put forth several digital problems they faced. Some needed better organisation of their website date, some wanted to attract more donors to their cause. “Hacker” teams of 4-6 people went through the problems and selected one each that they would work on for the 40 hours allotted.

After the teams were completed with their code, they gave 7 minute presentations to the judges assigned to each charity. I was judging teams that aimed to solve the problems put forward by Autism Ontario. Judging the 5 teams with me was a representative from Capital One and a representative from Autism Ontario.

One of the great things that I noticed was how many women were involved. For a field previously dominated by men, we were told that 1/3 of the coders identified as female.

The team that won the implementation prize (having their code implemented into the Autism Ontario website) was comprised of 3 women and 1 man. Team “Super Casual” came up with a solution for Autism Ontario’s problem of managing their data and directing visitors to the content and information they would want to see. By tagging Autism Ontario website’s content with keywords and creating a simple 3 question welcome page, team “Super Casual” was able to create a system that would easily direct website visitors to the information that best suits them. They also managed to get half of the website’s current data online and tagged with keywords, making the system ready to go almost immediately. The tagging system also worked very well with searches, showing the most relevant content in the results.

Each of the charities involved will receive $5,000 from Capital One to put towards the implementation of the code. For Autism Ontario, they will have the developed system added to their website.

Take a look at the other 5 participating charities and the great solutions they found  the competing coding groups.

Kids Help Phone – A chat bot that will connect counsellors internally and encourage interaction through gasification, creating a peer-to- peer support system within the organization.

The 519 – The winning team developed a secure registration platform for members of the LGBTQ+ community to access resources available to them. This allows The 519 to enhance their membership database and tailor programming availability to areas that need it most.

Indspire – A solution that generates engagement in Inspire’s annual Soaring Indigenous Youth Empowerment Gathering by gamifying attendance. The Gathering provides assistance and coaching to Indigenous high school students as they prepare for post-secondary education and then later, to enter the workforce.

CEE (Centre for Young Black Professionals) – A data management solution leveraging machine learning to better serve client needs and present a case for funding opportunities. This advances the economic and social development of Toronto’s Black youth facing multiple barriers to employment.

Sistering – A chat bot that revolutionises the conversations Sistering can foster with potential volunteers to provide additional information, insight, video and testimonials to encourage and educate on involvement possibilities.

The post Capital One’s Gift The Code brings digital innovation to local charities appeared first on Toronto Guardian.