'I was overwhelmed with such a nice act of kindness. And it just reminded me that there are some beautiful souls out there.'
In an ideal world, Mark Acheson would be in the United States, one month into his indefinite global journey around the world. Instead, he's back home in Hobart, managing Crisis Heroes, a global platform designed to connect those who are willing to volunteer with those who need help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pair returned to their respective states of Tasmania and Victoria, and "did a market analysis on what was missing in terms of volunteer services" with their other Melbourne-based co-founder Nicolas Hoban. Five days later, the website went live."Matthew Platts [co-founder and programmer] is a wizard," says Mr Acheson. "We've had more than 1000 people sign up from across the globe, and more and more people raising their hands to help.
"We've had one woman on the north-west coast of Tasmania request peanut butter, and peanut butter alone," Mr Acheson says. "She's responded saying she's had three or four people saying, 'We will deliver you peanut butter!'" Within 24 hours, she had connected with local Alana, who later dropped off the peanut butter, along with unexpected tea, chocolate, berries and a bouquet of flowers. The pair never met.
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