In some ways, this pandemic has advanced our communitys adoption of new technology. From buying hawker food online to catching up with our friends and family via video-conferencing, this might just be the new normal. Online platforms and applications allowed us to go on with our day-to-day life with little disruption and there are many ways we have been utilising technology to our advantage. This is exactly what our #SGStrong grantee Nigel Teo did. He put together a team and leveraged their existing online platform, GoodHoodSG, to create positive social impact in these difficult times.
Through their targeted COVID-19 platform OurHeroesSG, Nigels team was able to reach out to 2500 families that were previously unserved. Families just needed to provide a postal code and mobile number, which the team would later verify and send a care package, consisting of surgical masks and hand sanitisers. By streamlining the process of requesting for essentials and enabling the less mobile, especially the elderly, to ask for help, OurHeroesSG was a poignant example of how technology can play an important role in providing for our community.
The most rewarding experience so far is seeing so many people from all races, nationalities downloading and signing up to offer their help and services to their neighbours! We even made it to the third spot on the Play Store with a simple, small launch, without any marketing effort at all.
We hope that Nigel and his teams project will continue to inspire you to think of innovative ways to help those less fortunate in your community. Together, we are stronger than COVID-19.