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FaithHealth Aims To Connect Volunteers

By Jeff Hidek, posted Oct 21, 2016
You want to help. Really, you do. You’ve loved volunteering in the past. And you know your church has a lot of great programs. But you’re busy. And committing to a weekly or even monthly meeting to join a guild, committee or small group seems daunting. Besides, some months you have way more available time to give than others.

What’s a time-strapped do-gooder to do? And how can the people with jobs to be done get to you?

Enter FaithHealthNET, a new app from Wilmington resident Robert Rosenberg designed to match tasks with volunteers.

A third of people who volunteer do so at their church, Rosenberg said.

And if people belong to a church, they usually trust that network of people. The FaithHealthNET app lets organization members connect to that network and fill jobs on a case-by-case basis.

Once an organization registers with the site, it lists what kind of skills it’s looking for in its volunteers (cooking, driving, singing, maintenance, reading, etc.). It then distributes a code for its membership to input into the app, which will ask them to select the skills they have.

Then every time tasks come up – whether one driver is needed to take someone home from surgery on Monday or 12 people are needed to rake the grounds – the app will text (or email) a handful of people who said they could provide driving or lawn care services. If none of them can do it, the app automatically moves on to another batch of potential volunteers until it has as many volunteers as it needs.

It “fundamentally changes the way volunteers connect to the people and communities they support,” Rosenberg said.

The system potentially opens up a wider volunteer pool and also allows a convenient way for organizations to track and contact its helpers.

The web and mobile application allows organizers to add special requirements or other relevant information to help ensure the job finds the right people.

Launched in 2013, FaithHealthNET is still in its testing phase while working with several local organizations, including St. James Episcopal Church. To get more groups on board, any organization that signs up while the app is in its pilot stage will get a free perpetual license, Rosenberg said.

In September, the company participated in the demonstration room at the Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s conference in Raleigh.

“It was great,” said Rosenberg, adding that he’s had conversations with about a half dozen people he met at the conference.

While the company is still looking for investors and partner organizations, Rosenberg is optimistic about the feedback he’s received from those who understand how hard it can be to connect jobs with the people who can do them.

“It’s such a relevant problem,” he said.
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