We had to change the format for Seattle Give Camp from in-person to virtual for everyones’ safety. The leadership team saw there was a greater need to assist non-profit organizations in meeting the needs of many. A new platform, digital tools and critical thinking was incorporated by volunteers within the local community and beyond. Creating an online community included people from other time zones. People are willing to help.
I was a team leader for the POCAAN organization. We migrated their website from WordPress to Squarespace over the weekend. We had a three person team plus two staff members from POCAAN. I had a crash course on how to use Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Planner and Trello. Utilizing these tools on the Microsoft Teams platform varied from using these tools on my personal laptop.
Seattle Give Camp finished seven projects with approximately 50 volunteers and staff members. Another team lead observed that this years event, the volunteers were more focused. I think everyone recognized the necessity to adapt to the scenario, adjust our thinking caps and lea forward to the challenges. There were a few glitches here and there; which happens in every live event.
Since we are not meeting in-person and enjoying our tradition of devouring cupcakes, I improvised. Not as sweet as the real thing.
