What is NeighborGood?
NeighborGood is a 501c3 non-profit organization that connects chronically ill and/or temporarily or permanently disabled individuals with neighbors to help with home tasks and errands.
How does NeighborGood work?
You sign up to give or get help on this website. A member of our team will contact you to conduct a brief (5-10 minute) Skype interview. Then, based on your location and availability, we’ll match you with someone in your neighborhood. We strive to make matches that require our volunteers to commute no more than 15 minutes.
After your match, we’ll contact you to share brief feedback that we use to make our service even better. Once you’ve completed this, you can sign up to give or get help again, anytime you’d like!
Who can NeighborGood help?
- People coping with a chronic illness or long-term condition – e.g., autoimmune disease, depression, stroke, COPD, cancer, dementia
- People with physical disabilities
- People with learning disabilities who want to maximise their independence
- People recovering from an illness or operation
- Caregivers
- Sons or daughters worried about aging parents
- Older couples who look after each other
- Parents looking after children with disabilities or long-term conditions
Am I eligible to participate?
Anyone age 18+ can sign up to give or get help. We ask that those signing up to get help do so as a result of a health condition – your own, or that of someone to whom you are a caregiver. All participants undergo background checks.
We are currently focused on the Cambridge, Medford, and Somerville areas. If you live outside of these areas, we will still try to match you, but it may take us a bit longer to find you a nearby match. We hope to expand to other parts of the Boston area soon!
How do I participate?
To give or receive help, you can sign up on the “Helper” or “Helpee” pages on this website. If you have difficulty filling out the form, you may want to ask a friend, family member, or caregiver for help.
Does it cost anything to participate?
No. Giving or receiving help through NeighborGood is free of cost, and we ask that helpees refrain from tipping volunteers.
After you’ve received help, you’ll have the option of donating an amount of your choosing to support our operations. Donations help defray the costs of liability insurance, technology, and other expenses of running a high-quality non-profit organization. We seek to minimize our expenses and use donations responsibly!
How do you protect participant safety?
- We run full CORI background checks through the state of Massachusetts to screen participants’ criminal records.
- We conduct a video conversation with every participant before he or she is matched.
- We provide online training materials to educate and prepare participants in advance of their first match.
- We collect ratings and reviews after every match.
More questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us anytime at neighborgood.us@gmail.com.