Celebrate the Season of Giving with these Amazing Apps

Productivity / Life

Celebrate the Season of Giving
with these Amazing Apps

How mobile apps are finding new ways to practice compassion.

Close up kids hands on a tree trunk in the form of a heart shape

There’s no denying that technology is bringing us closer together in new and exciting ways. But it’s also promoting altruism, or the selfless concern for the wellbeing of others.

With World Kindess Day and Thanksgiving celebrated earlier this month, and with Christmas just around the corner, the Season of Giving is well and truly upon us. It offers the perfect chance for each of us to be a little more compassionate.

And thanks to mobile apps we can all practice daily compassion with a simple tap of our fingers, and help to make the world a better place.

From simply lending a helping hand, to sharing food with the less fortunate or giving the gift of vision, there are many ways that mobile apps are helping us give back to the world around us.
Here are three amazing apps to help you get in touch with your altruistic side.

Helpfulpeeps

Since it was founded in 2015, Bristol-based peer-to-peer network Helpfulpeeps has seen phenomenal growth. In a social media-dominated world designed to convince people to spend more time online, Helpfulpeeps have created a platform that enables people to connect and help each other in the real world. Their ethos is simple: ask for help when you want and help others when you can. This app allows members to share their time, skills and knowledge with each other in their local communities. Perhaps your cat needs sitting while you’re away on holiday? Maybe you want to learn Italian or German? Or maybe you need some help moving house? Simply post your request on the app and ask for help. Someone on the other end will respond and you can work out the details through private messaging. Each time you help you earn ‘karma’ which acts as your social capital on the app. They call it the ‘karma economy’ and it’s influencing local communities worldwide for the better. Wouldn’t it be nice if the whole world ran on the ‘karma economy’?

ShareTheMeal

Winner of the 2017 Google Play Best Social Impact award, ShareTheMeal is an initiative of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) that uses crowdfunding to fight global hunger. And with approximately 821 million undernourished people in the world today, ShareTheMeal is making a huge impact one small donation at time. With ShareTheMeal, users can make small donations to specific World Food Project initiatives and track its progress. Since 2015, Berlin-based ShareTheMeal has shared over 28 million meals with vulnerable children in Syria, Lebanon, Haiti, Uganda, Northeast Nigeria and Bangladesh. It costs less than £0.50 to feed one child in need, so spare yourself that weekend avocado on toast and join actor Mark Ruffalo, comedian Sarah Silverman and musician Grimes in the fight against world hunger.

Be My Eyes

Winner of the 2018 Google Play Best Accessibility Experience award, Be My Eyes is giving the gift of sight to the blind and vision-impaired. It’s a free app that connects those with vision to those that need it through a live video call. A blind or vision-impaired person may need help as they go about their daily lives. Everything from checking an expiry date, to distinguishing colours, reading instructions, or navigating new surroundings can prove just a little trickier, and that’s where Be My Eyes offers support. People with full sight can register as volunteers and be called upon when a blind of low-sighted user needs a hand (or pair of eyes) with something. A live video call connects the two and allows the sighted volunteer to see the problem and offer guidance. It’s available in over 150 countries and 180 languages, and has already amassed an army of 1.7 million volunteers offering their vision to 100 thousand blind and vision-impaired. So go on, get off social media and lend your eyes to a much worthier cause.