A service that helps make volunteering accessible by making it easy to find opportunities, network with the community, and get the necessary resources and guidance to start the volunteering process.
Create a service around the topic of volunteerism.
Primary and Secondary Research, System Diagrams, Presentation Content, Illustrations, App UI & Mockups, Video Sound Editing.
Sketch, Adobe CC, Keynote, InVision.
Grace Lee, Janice Salikin, Yazhen Zhang - 3 Months / Fall 2018
Volunteering is a way for anyone to give back to their community and support the issues they are passionate about. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find the right cause, environment, and motivation to begin these acts of kindness.
Find what fits you.
Fill out a quick survey to complete your profile! This helps us match you to fitting causes and resources.
Every action matters.
Not sure if you want to commit to volunteering yet?
Start off with some Daily Tasks, small acts of service that are generated each day to help you give back in a matter of minutes.
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Connect with the community.
Find likeminded volunteers around you and join groups about subjects you're interested in.
Match with an organization and mentor.
When you're ready to start volunteering, check out your recommended organizations. If you feel unsure about the process, just request a mentor who can guide you along the way.
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See the impact.
The volunteer hours you put in unlock rewards and donate to your causes of choice.
Find what fits you.
Fill out a quick survey to complete your profile! This helps us match you to fitting causes and resources.
Every action matters.
Not sure if you want to commit to volunteering yet? Start off with some Daily Tasks, small acts of service that are generated each day to help you give back in a matter of minutes.
Connect with the community.
Find likeminded volunteers around you and join groups about subjects you're interested in.
Match with an organization and mentor.
When you're ready to start volunteering, check out your recommended organizations. If you feel unsure about the process, just request a mentor who can guide you along the way.
See the impact.
The volunteer hours you put in unlock rewards and donate to your causes of choice.
Find what fits you.
Fill out a quick survey to complete your profile! This helps us match you to fitting causes and resources.
Every action matters.
Not sure if you want to commit to volunteering yet?
Start off with some Daily Tasks, small acts of service that are generated each day to help you give back in a matter of minutes.
Connect with the community.
Find likeminded volunteers around you and join groups about subjects you're interested in.
Match with an organization and mentor.
When you're ready to start volunteering, check out your recommended organizations. If you feel unsure about the process, just request a mentor who can guide you along the way.
See the impact.
The volunteer hours you put in unlock rewards and donate to your causes of choice.
Volunteerism is broad. Our first challenge of the project was to decide which area to focus on.
To unpack this diverse topic, we created a mind map covering all the areas we could think of associated with volunteerism. We found that while the spectrum was diverse, we really wanted to focus in on what motivated people to volunteer, as it was crucial to all areas of volunteering.
The first leg of our research was secondary, and we looked online to discover what motivated people to volunteer. It boiled down to these major categories:
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However, this was just what the Internet had to say about volunteering. We wanted to learn first-hand what the people thought. We interviewed nine people in total, with six formal interviews spanning ~40 minutes, and three intercept interviews. We asked them for experiences around volunteering, their reasons to volunteer and what changes they hoped for.
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People are motivated to volunteer because of personal fulfillment.
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"Volunteering gives you a sense of meaning because you're able to help people on your own will, and I have the luxury to be able to do that."
Eunice, 23 / Grad Student
“I don’t think I would have made it so well in my professional and personal endeavors if I wasn’t giving back. I believe everything is coming back.”
Jessica , 34 / AA & Youth Mentor
"I don't even look at volunteering as volunteering. It's about value. There's monetary value, but there's also emotional and spiritual. For your soul; your happiness."
Adele, 42 / Volunteer Filmmaker & Teacher
People value fostering relationships (personal & professional).
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“I’m able to go to places and meet new people, and I think those are really big life experiences that you can’t get out of just the comfort of daily work.”
Zack, 21 / Design Student
“I get to experience teaching students in different countries; being able to talk and share and have discussions with other people, it helps me communicate better with people.”
Eunice, 23 / Grad Student
“When you’re in a community with your friends and you want to help your friends out, they want to help you when you’re in need. That’s what volunteerism is for me.”
Adele, 42 / Volunteer Filmmaker & Teacher
People’s experience are directly affected by the environment they volunteer in.
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“I’m volunteering to have fun and feel better, and so if I’m doing it with the people and environment I like, I have a better time.”
Pam, 56 / Director of Housing at Soup.io
“When you’re younger I think you feel less scared when you have a buddy in the volunteering Organization.”
Zack, 21 / Design Student
“I’m very particular about where I volunteer. I want to make sure I’m using my time right— because time is currency! When I see certain organizations become corporate, that’s when I back out.”
Kabreshiona, 22 / Performing Arts Mentor
People wish volunteerism was normalized/integrated into daily life.
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“It’s like brushing your teeth. Everyone should do something for your community. It should be a standard.”
Adele, 42 / Volunteer Filmmaker
“Sometimes I feel like have to be invited to volunteer, and I wish that there were more invitations. I think everyone should be able to volunteer.”
Pam, 56 / Director of Housing at Soup.io
"There should be opportunities for everyone to go regardless of work schedules and money. It’s such a great thing that everyone should experience, and it’s really sad when people say 'I don’t have time for it'."
Eunice, 23 / Grad Student
We also found that our interviewees were split between two types of volunteers: the Mentors and the Student. The Mentors volunteer by investing their time in guiding others. They care about giving back and seeing the community around them grow and succeed. They see struggles around them and want to change that from a human level. However, they are frustrated by the lack of awareness and resources around volunteering.
The Students on the other hand, strive to connect with the people in their local community, gaining experience and fulfillment by helping others in need. They are driven to volunteer because of emotional fulfillment, and strive to learn from others while contributing to society. However, they often struggle balancing a busy schedule at school and work with finding time to volunteer.
By combining them, we created the Archetype of the Humanist:
After gathering together what we learned from the interviews, these were our biggest findings around motivations:
People are motivated to volunteer because of personal fulfillment.
"Volunteering gives you a sense of meaning because you're able to help people on your own will, and I have the luxury to be able to do that."
Eunice, 23 / Grad Student
“I don’t think I would have made it so well in my professional and personal endeavors if I wasn’t giving back. I believe everything is coming back.”
Jessica , 34 / AA & Youth Mentor
"I don't even look at volunteering as volunteering. It's about value. There's monetary value, but there's also emotional and spiritual. For your soul; your happiness."
Adele, 42 / Volunteer Filmmaker & Teacher
People value fostering relationships (personal & professional).
“I’m able to go to places and meet new people, and I think those are really big life experiences that you can’t get out of just the comfort of daily work.”
Zack, 21 / Design Student
“I get to experience teaching students in different countries; being able to talk and share and have discussions with other people, it helps me communicate better with people.”
Eunice, 23 / Grad Student
“When you’re in a community with your friends and you want to help your friends out, they want to help you when you’re in need. That’s what volunteerism is for me.”
Adele, 42 / Volunteer Filmmaker & Teacher
People’s experience are directly affected by the environment they volunteer in.
“I’m volunteering to have fun and feel better, and so if I’m doing it with the people and environment I like, I have a better time.”
Pam, 56 / Director of Housing at Soup.io
“When you’re younger I think you feel less scared when you have a buddy in the volunteering Organization.”
Zack, 21 / Design Student
“I’m very particular about where I volunteer. I want to make sure I’m using my time right— because time is currency! When I see certain organizations become corporate, that’s when I back out.”
Kabreshiona, 22 / Performing Arts Mentor
People wish volunteerism was normalized and integrated into daily life.
“It’s like brushing your teeth. Everyone should do something for your community. It should be a standard.”
Adele, 42 / Volunteer Filmmaker
“Sometimes I feel like have to be invited to volunteer, and I wish that there were more invitations. I think everyone should be able to volunteer.”
Pam, 56 / Director of Housing at Soup.io
"There should be opportunities for everyone to go regardless of work schedules and money. It’s such a great thing that everyone should experience, and it’s really sad when people say 'I don’t have time for it'."
Eunice, 23 / Grad Student
We also found that our interviewees were split between two types of volunteers: the Mentors and the Student. The Mentors volunteer by investing their time in guiding others. They care about giving back and seeing the community around them grow and succeed. They see struggles around them and want to change that from a human level. However, they are frustrated by the lack of awareness and resources around volunteering.
The Students on the other hand, strive to connect with the people in their local community, gaining experience and fulfillment by helping others in need. They are driven to volunteer because of emotional fulfillment, and strive to learn from others while contributing to society. However, they often struggle balancing a busy schedule at school and work with finding time to volunteer.
By combining them, we created the Archetype of the Humanist:
After digesting the information we learned, we created an experience map for the Humanist that encompassed the volunteering process based on our interviewees' own experiences. We focused on how someone would discover volunteering, and their struggles and highlights throughout the process.
An ecosystem map was created next so we could think of volunteering holistically, and consider what parts needed to be included in our service.
With our problem area defined, we started thinking of potential ways to solve them. We created over 150 concept cards addressing the needs and goals during the four stages of volunteering we outlined in our experience map.
With over a hundred ideas flying around, we had to decide what to cut or combine. Ultimately, we went back and referenced our synthesis, and decided to move forward with a platform that utilized the digital space to maximize awareness and accessbility around volunteerism.
To present our initial concept, we created a vision story that shows how the service works in context:
Finally, it was time to bring our vision to life. For Allhands, we wanted four different touchpoints to be part of the experience: posters and business cards to raise awareness around our service, a physical starter kit that helped the user's volunteering process, and an app for connecting with the community and different organizations while keeping track of and scheduling volunteer hours. Here is where they would sit in a service blueprint:
While we all participated in the creation of all four touchpoints, I was mainly responsible for creating the app. The first step I took was listing out all the features we wanted in the app, and creating a user flow that outlining to possible ways to encounter and interact with them.
Explore the full app in InVision here! https://invis.io/JRPFJQA4P8C
During the creation of the touchpoints, we ran two Service Prototypes, once with our peers and once with four professional service designers for feedback. We walked them through the experience of what using our service would be like, asking them to interact with our touchpoints at difference stages of the journey.
During the creation of the touchpoints, we ran two Service Prototypes, once with our peers and once with four professional service designers for feedback. We walked them through the experience of what using our service would be like, asking them to interact with our touchpoints at difference stages of the journey.
All and all, our service was met with positive reviews, and we based our final concept video off of the scenario we ran through. There were some questions raised about how Allhands would be funded as a non-profit, and how this could better benefits students in terms of career growth. For the next evolution of Allhands, we hope to tackle these questions and explore how the digital interactions within the app can further boost the physical, real world connections found through volunteering.
During the creation of the touchpoints, we ran two Service Prototypes, once with our peers and once with four professional service designers for feedback. We walked them through the experience of what using our service would be like, asking them to interact with our touchpoints at difference stages of the journey.
All and all, our service was met with positive reviews, and we based our final concept video off of the scenario we ran through. There were some questions raised about how Allhands would be funded as a non-profit, and how this could better benefits students in terms of career growth. For the next evolution of Allhands, we hope to tackle these questions and explore how the digital interactions within the app can further boost the physical, real world connections found through volunteering.
All and all, our service was met with positive reviews, and we based our final concept video off of the scenario we ran through. There were some questions raised about how Allhands would be funded as a non-profit, and how this could better benefits students in terms of career growth. For the next evolution of Allhands, we hope to tackle these questions and explore how the digital interactions within the app can further boost the physical, real world connections found through volunteering.
During the creation of the touchpoints, we ran two Service Prototypes, once with our peers and once with four professional service designers for feedback. We walked them through the experience of what using our service would be like, asking them to interact with our touchpoints at difference stages of the journey.
All and all, our service was met with positive reviews, and we based our final concept video off of the scenario we ran through. There were some questions raised about how Allhands would be funded as a non-profit, and how this could better benefits students in terms of career growth. For the next evolution of Allhands, we hope to tackle these questions and explore how the digital interactions within the app can further boost the physical, real world connections found through volunteering.