The #DutchTechHeroes Fighting COVID-19: Hendrik-Jan Overmeer, Deedmob.

“Deedmob.com is a social tech startup founded in 2017 that helps with its technologies more than 1,500 organisations in Europe with the deployment and organisation of volunteers. For example, in 2019 Deedmob recruited 6,000 new blood donors for Sanquin, the national Dutch blood bank. Other organisations to which Deedmob provides volunteers include UNICEF, Red Cross, National Food Banks, World Wildlife Fund, fiKks and corporate partners such as Red Bull, TomTom, Beiersdorf, and local authorities such as the Municipality of Utrecht and County of Somerset. Deedmob was co-founded by Boudewijn Wijnands (CEO, 28) & David Furlong (CTO, 26). Both studied at Oxford University and were mentioned in the European list 'Forbes 30 under 30' on 17 March 2020 in the category of social entrepreneurs next to Greta Thunberg. Deedmob's technology was also praised as the highest in various categories in a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation report on 'Volunteering technology'.”

“Deedmob launched coronahelpers.nl in the Netherlands at the start of the corona pandemic lockdown. Since then, thousands of people are helping one another on this platform through a coalition of over 150+ local organisations including municipalities, corporates, and charities to coordinate help requests with volunteers. In the first three weeks alone, over 700,000 people have been reached and over 3,500 people were helped. Since then multiple local Deedmob CoronaHelpers platforms have been launched in the UK, Germany, and Belgium. Deedmob can set-up a local volunteer coordination platform free of charge for your government, cities, local communities within days. The platform not only matches people that need and offer help but also coordinates people on the ground with local charities, municipalities, and companies in order to provide the best care possible.”

“We need more partner organisations and communities. By increasing the network of forward-thinking government officials and daring community leaders that we work with (from corporates, charities, or other organisations), we can exponentially scale our collective social impact during this crisis. Are you a local government official looking for a solution to make your community more resilient? Do you work for an organisation that can leverage its brand to motivate thousands of people to volunteer? Are you a community leader looking for a more efficient way to leverage the power of your people? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to fight the virus together.”