Tech firm's free website matches over 1,100 volunteers with 25 charities in Sheffield

Tribepad’s new site allows volunteers to be registered and mobilised at record speed.

It has given it free to Voluntary Action Sheffield which is working with more than 25 charities and was using a mix of paper and digital spreadsheets.

Now it says it can manage volunteers, assign tasks and track what each one does. VAS has been contacted by more than 1,100 people since lockdown.

Interested volunteers can sign up here: https://vascovid19.tribepad.com/login

Tribepad normally creates websites to help big organisations like Tesco recruit staff.

Paul Harvey, of Voluntary Action Sheffield, thanked the firm.

He said: “The platform we’ve built with Tribepad gives information and control to both volunteers and charities, which was previously impossible to do on this scale.

“We can see where the need is and it’s empowering people and charities to make those vital connections. It is a vital part of Sheffield’s response to COVID 19.”

TribePad is based in The Innovation Centre on Portobello and employs 45 in Sheffield.

Dan Kirkland, operations director, said: “There are so many incredible initiatives springing up across the country, led by amazing people giving up their time to help their local communities in the face of COVID-19.

“Speaking with Paul at VAS, who’s doing some incredible work coordinating efforts in Sheffield, we couldn’t help notice how similar the issues they were facing were to the problems facing many of our customers.

“It was therefore a no brainer for us to develop a new platform using our Flex technology.”

Last month, Tribepad said it processed 1m job applications in a week as newly laid-off workers applied for jobs at supermarkets, trucking firms and care homes. It handled a 108,000 in the same period last year.

It saw a 40-fold increase in applications to retailers in just two days after coronavirus shut most stores, leading to a boom in supermarket shopping.

The firm has saw growth in healthcare vacancies after borders closed - the sector has been reliant on overseas workers - and an increase in staff off sick.

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