Groundcrew Blog

Groundcrew Conquers East Coast Blizzard

Here at Groundcrew we frequently run pilots testing out new uses of our platform. So, when Joseph Porcelli of Neighbors for Neighbors asked us to help organize a neighborhood snow shoveling squad, we were excited to make it happen. After a day of preparation, a bit of dispatcher training, and an open call for volunteer signups, we were ready to go….
 
On February 12th, ‘SnowCrew’ dispatched a small crew of volunteers to shovel snow in Jamaica Plain, MA after a winter storm blanketed the city in 12-18 inches of snow. Joseph Porcelli and Roy Krantz led the team on a series of shoveling missions throughout the day. Despite a few initial hiccups — like how to check text messages while wearing full winter gear — people reported having lots of fun shoveling with their neighbors. By the end of the day, they’d shoveled 19 different locations including four crosswalks, the walkways and driveways of three elderly neighbors, and a couple of bus stops.
 
Not too bad for the first time out! Let’s turn it over to Joseph for his report of the events.

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Thanks Jordan. Let me start out by saying Groundcrew rocks, and so does the team. Joe, Chad, Jordan, we could not have done this in our short time period with out your help!
 
What rocks about Groundcrew is that it helps me, help people, help other people. Groundcrew allows our crew of neighbors to help others where and when they want to => Location + Availability + Interest = Engagement.

WGBH.org based in Boston, joined us as we went out and got some great quotes from our squad that I think sum it up the best. You can read the story and see the pictures here.

Loay Abdelkarim, a SnowCrew member, said “Technology made it possible for me to live in a village, as opposed to what I am in, a very large community.” He went on to say “[Groundcrew] took the headache out of trying to coordinate an unknown number of volunteers with an unknown number of shoveling sites during a storm of unknown duration.”

Tori Hatch, another SnowCrew member said “I’m able-bodied and I can, and it’s fun to do stuff with other people”

Laure Liebster, a neighbor who needed help shoveling said “It meant a lot to me, more than like a service, like, ‘You got my cars out’ “ Liebster said. “It’s like I’m part of a neighborhood that wants to give back and wants to be a part of something.”

Shoveling Successes:

• 5 Businesses (Egleston Square) to help owners who could not get in avoid the fine
• 4 Crosswalks
• 3 Elderly neighbors walkways, driveways, and porches
• 2 Bus stops
• 2 Vehicles
• 2 Community maintained parks
• 1 Injured neighbors walkway and porch

Volunteer Breakdown:

• 53 Neighbors signed up via groundcrew to help
• 34 Confirmed they were available to help
• 11 Neighbors were dispatched
• An unknown number of neighbors went out and shoveled from the map we posted in the SnowCrew group
• Roy was our primary dispatcher. I helped and so did Jordan from Groundcrew

Preliminary Observations:

• Neighbors rock!
• SnowCrew members reported enjoying shoveling together
• Text messaging seemed to be the preferred choice vs. iPhone app
• We need to train crew members how to use the system before we launch (we did not have time)
• We need to do a thorough survey of the crew’s experience to gather feedback on the system and the program
• We need to do strategic outreach through our partners to get the word out that this service exists
• We are going to need more “dispatchers”