Send an idea
What should we
do next?
Most of what we do came from someone who turned up once and said "we should try…".
A street that needs cleaning. A place that needs hands for two hours. Somebody having a rough year. We read everything, we can't do everything, and we'll tell you either way.
What makes an idea easy to say yes to
It takes one or two hours. That's the whole format. Anything longer becomes a different kind of commitment and people stop coming.
It works with three people and with fifteen. We never know which we'll get.
Somebody has actually asked for it. The best ideas come with a name and a phone number — "the pantry on 22nd said they're short of X."
It doesn't need a background check. Anything involving patients, children, or people in shelter needs screening we can't do on a Saturday. Still send it — we'll route it to the right programme.
Things we've had to say no to
Handing out homemade food. Anything that needs a permit we don't have. Planting in an alley without asking the city first. Filming people who are having a hard day. Turning up at an organisation unannounced because we thought it would be a nice surprise. All of these came from a good place and all of them create work for someone else.