Online Help Wanted — Here’s What We Are Asking

We are looking for more people to assist with the online communication and coordination behind the Not Just A Food Program.

We have other ways to help, including sandwich making in a licensed kitchen and assisting with pickups and deliveries. This particular request is specifically for people interested in helping with our online efforts.

Start With Just One or Two Individuals

As a new online helper, you will start by communicating with only one or two individuals participating in the program.

We want you to have time to understand the process and become comfortable with the role. There is no expectation that you will eventually manage a large number of people.

If one or two individuals is what you are comfortable managing, you can simply continue with that. If you later decide you have the time and would like to help more, you can ask to have another one or two individuals added.

What Does the Communication Involve?

The basic responsibility is straightforward: maintain regular online contact, listen, and help connect information with the people coordinating support.

At the basic level, this includes confirming the timing of an upcoming delivery and making sure the participant understands what is currently being provided.

Most communication will involve short messages, but those messages can happen throughout the week. They may come on weekdays and occasionally on weekends.

We are not asking anyone to be online constantly or put their own life on hold. We simply ask that communication remains reasonably consistent.

If you know you are going away for a weekend or will be unavailable for a period of time, let us know early. Participants can then understand that you will be unavailable, and program administration can monitor communication and address anything that may come up while you are away.

Communication Can Help Us Discover the Real Need

This is where the online role can become much more important than simply confirming a delivery.

Through regular communication, we have learned that in some cases the immediate request isn't necessarily the underlying problem.

For example, through conversations with a participant, we learned that they were unable to get to a food bank. That difficulty was contributing to additional food insecurity and increasing their need for food supplies from us.

Once we understood the situation, we could look at a different solution.

We now have a growing list of volunteers willing to take individuals to a food bank and bring them home again. Helping someone access the food already available to them can reduce their need for additional supplies from our program while providing more meaningful support for that individual.

That is why communication matters.

It isn't simply:

“What can we give you?”

It can also become:

“What is preventing you from accessing the support you already have available, and is there something practical we can do about it?”

For us, that is dignity in action.

When Someone's Support Increases

The Not Just A Food Program is developing steps that allow us to provide greater and more individualized support as people participate, communicate, and respect the requirements of the program.

When someone you are communicating with moves to another level of support, administration will let you know what has changed and what needs to be communicated.

Any additional requirements will be clearly identified and must be understood and agreed upon by the participant before moving forward.

This can also mean a little more communication. What begins as one short weekly check-in may occasionally become two or three conversations during a week while additional support is being coordinated.

What Can Additional Support Include?

Someone may begin by receiving prepared sandwiches. A next step could be receiving a loaf of bread and available sandwich supplies to prepare approximately 3–5 sandwich lunches themselves each week, rather than relying only on prepared sandwiches.

As participation and communication continue, LIFE Clothing may become another option. Specific clothing needs can be identified through these conversations and, when suitable items become available, coordinated through our pickup and delivery efforts.

Care packages are another progression we are developing and may be offered when appropriate supplies become available.

And, as the food bank example shows, sometimes the next step isn't providing more supplies at all. It is identifying a barrier and finding a practical way to help someone overcome it.

There Are Requirements — But You Are Not Alone

Each step comes with expectations around communication, participation, respect, and responsibility.

When requirements are not followed, there can be consequences affecting the support being provided. Online helpers are not expected to make those decisions themselves.

If something doesn't seem right, you don't know how to respond, or a situation goes beyond normal communication, connect with program administration. We can review what is happening and determine the appropriate next step.

A Flexible Commitment That Can Grow With You

We understand that volunteers have work, families, appointments, weekends away, and other responsibilities.

This role isn't about being available every minute. It is about maintaining consistent and respectful communication and letting us know when you won't be available so someone else can monitor things when necessary.

Start with one or two individuals. Learn the process and decide what is comfortable for you.

Stay with one or two if that works for you. If you eventually want to do more, you can ask to add another couple of individuals.

Still Interested in Helping Online?

If you have already expressed an interest in helping, this article is intended to give you a clearer understanding of what the online role actually involves.

If you are still interested after reading this, let us know.

We will make a follow-up connection with you, answer your questions, explain the process in greater detail, and help you get started.

Sometimes a few short messages help coordinate a sandwich or delivery. Other times, those conversations help us discover a barrier that is making someone's life more difficult and find a practical way to reduce it.

That is why this online role matters.

Communication creates understanding. Understanding helps us provide the right support. And providing that support with respect is dignity in action.