At TaskRabbit we care deeply about our communities and the people who are part of them. So on our 10th anniversary, we made a promise to our community: for all tasks completed on October 10, we donated 100% of our service fee: 50% to Taskers and 50% to nonprofit organizations through TaskRabbit for Good. Today, we are excited to announce that we have given the funds to eight local Habitat for Humanity chapters across three countries, including in Washington, DC, Greater Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Metro Denver, Wake County, Greater Toronto Area, and Great Britain.
In the spirit of giving this month, we also challenged our four global offices to dedicate a day to volunteer in their communities. From donating time at local food banks to revamping a homeless shelter, over 130 employees, Clients, and Taskers came together to give back. Continue reading to discover what the volunteer days meant to four TaskRabbit team members.
San Francisco: St. Vincent De Paul of San Francisco
Our San Francisco headquarters spent the day at MSC Shelter, one of the largest homeless shelters in Northern California. As a team, we divided and conquered projects throughout the shelter, including painting and cleaning the men’s sleeping hall, deep cleaning the kitchen, painting the exterior of the building, and serving and preparing breakfast and lunch for the drop-in center.
“I helped paint and clean in the men’s hall. My favorite part of the day was when one of the shelter guests stood up at lunch and thanked us. It almost brought tears to my eyes because you could feel the appreciation in the room.
Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life it’s easy to get caught up in your own world, but visiting St. Vincent’s grounded me. It was awesome to connect with our local community and see the shelter improvements that were made in just four hours!
I also have a newfound appreciation for all the Taskers out there who paint regularly. My arms were sore for two days.” —Katie C., Community Coordinator
Austin: Central Texas Food Bank
The Austin TaskRabbit team staffed four shifts at the Central Texas Food Bank, which works with food donors across the country, financial supporters, and volunteers to fill unmet needs in Central Texas. In the last year, the Central Texas Food Bank was able to provide over 45 million meals. We volunteered by inspecting, sorting, and boxing food that would be shipped out to people in need.
“The best part of the experience was joining together with the Austin team and collaborating on this project. There was so much energy in the warehouse with music and teamwork. Not only was it great to work as a team together, but we were able to do our part to give back to the community and support the needs of people less fortunate than ourselves.
It’s so wonderful that we work for the kind of company that lets us donate our time to help other people in need. It was awesome to represent TaskRabbit and show up as a group to give back.” — Katie E., Hr & Office Administration Manager
London: FareShare
The London office spent a day at the FareShare warehouse, an organization that redistributes surplus food to charities and communities in need. We volunteered by packing food into boxes for delivery as well as distributing pre-packaged boxes to charities. We’re already looking forward to our next day with FareShare in December!
“I really enjoyed working and getting to know our Taskers during our time at FareShare. It felt good to be able to work hard and know that you are helping someone have a meal. I didn’t realise how wasteful our society is and how we don’t appreciate that sometimes. At FareShare, we learned that only 5% of UK’s edible food is redistributed to those in need, while France redistributes over 95% of food waste.” —Natasha D., HR & Office Coordinator
New York City: Food Bank for New York City
The New York team partnered with Taskers to spend the day at the Food Bank for New York City in West Harlem. We were doing stock and shop, with the team split between assisting customers of the food bank and prepping food to be placed in the store. The Food Bank has moved away from the traditional idea of giving out what they have to clients and instead, letting them select what they want in an environment that mimics a small grocery store. This empowers people by giving them control over what they eat and also reduces food waste by not giving families food they don’t enjoy or can’t eat due to allergies or medical concerns.
“I ran the fruits and veggies section of the store, along with a Tasker, Bernie. We greeted clients and assisted them with navigating the selection and getting all the food they need. Each person had a card with a certain amount of points on each, and each item was one point. Clients are able to come to the store and redeem their points on a monthly basis.
I really enjoyed being face to face with those in need in New York City and being able to directly make an impact. My favorite part of the day was being able to simultaneously give back, but also get to know a few of our local Taskers on a personal level. I loved getting to know about Bernie’s family, his passion for tasking (and volunteering!), and how proud he is of the work he does.” —Tricia M., Operations Growth Associate
