Hack to Help: COVID-19

Our communities are facing all types of challenges with the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. In the midst of all of it, we’ve been inspired by the small hacks people are making to help in any way they can. So we’ve created this page as a resource for others who might want to help – whether that means creating something, contributing to others' efforts, or simply volunteering your time to those in need.

Help for Organizations and Small Businesses

Small hacks and tools for workers, businesses, and communities recovering from the impacts of COVID-19.

Voicemail Organizer

By Google Creative Lab

A Google Sheets add-on that helps businesses import and manage transcribed voicemails in a simple spreadsheet.

Help for Local Businesses

By The Annapolis Small Business Recovery Task Force

An easy way to connect businesses with free retail, legal, banking, IT, and e-commerce support from local volunteers using Google Sheets, Forms, and Gmail templates.

How to make an SMS Bot

By Nicole He

sms-bot.info is a guide to making a texting bot in Google Sheets using a Twilio phone number in about 30 minutes, no coding required. When people text your bot, it will ask a series of questions that you define, and then save their answers in your spreadsheet.

Scannable Signs

By Hana Tanimura, Maya Man, José Guizar

Need a quick, contactless way to collect orders, tips, or signatures? A new way to make appointments, or leave reviews? Create your very own Scannable Sign with this simple tool.

Line Up

By Google Creative Lab

Line Up is a simple app that businesses can use to create and manage a virtual queue. A customer can hold their place in line, then wait a safe distance away until the business notifies them it's their turn.

Help for Everyone Else

Here are a few efforts we’ve come across.

Sodar

Sodar uses WebXR to help visualise social distancing guidelines in your environment. Using Sodar on supported mobile devices, creates an augmented reality two meter radius ring around you.

TeachableMachine.js

Bring #TeachableMachine into your own web creations with a library called teachablemachine.js. It could be helpful for building your own hand wash timers, face touch detectors, and more. Here’s the first remixable demo to get a sneak peek.

Glance Back

Glance Back is a daily photo diary that captures moments shared between you and your computer. By interrupting your screen time once a day, the extension invites you to reflect on your current state of mind.

MerchAid

Check out MerchAid from R/GA NY. They’re working with artists/designers to create custom merch with all proceeds going to local small businesses.

Cupboard Calculator

Web developer Dan Motzenbecker is working on a simple calculator for your cupboard. Site here.

Marilyn's Guide

A slideshow of video tips for remote teaching with Google tools. Guide here.

Open Source Face Mask Designs

Help gather, test, and validate the best open source face mask designs, with the aid of experts and the community. Site here, and spreadsheet of designs here.

Support Small Businesses

Web developers have been creating platforms to help support small businesses on sites such as cards.gift, supportnyc.online, helpyourhood.online, and more.

Isolated Inventors

Submit your inventions or challenge design technologists Kate Strudwick and Timi Oyedeji to invent solutions to some of the difficulties involved with social distancing. Link to site.

Wash-A-Lot-Bot

Want to try making your own hand wash timer using Arduino? Makers Lucas Ochoa and Gautam Bose have shared a video here and easy-to-follow instructions here.

Helpwithcovid.com

Helpwithcovid.com is a site connecting developers who want to volunteer their skills to projects/efforts asking for help.

Digital Coffee

Check out how folks like Tea Uglow, Carly Ayres, Chancey Fleet, and Jonas Jongejan are volunteering their time via remote lectures, workshops, and chats.

Epidemic Simulation

Mitch Resnick made a simple epidemic simulation using Scratch: “Explore how the spread is "flattened" when more people stay at home – and modify the code to try out your own ideas and theories.” Scratch project here.

Accessible Flatten the Curve Graphic

Naomi Rosenberg of Lighthouse is making the “flatten the curve” graphic more accessible via a tactile braille version. Get the downloadable/printable file here.

Wash Your Lyrices

Websites like Wash Your Lyrics and Birthday Hands are creative ways to motivate hand washing.

Do Not Touch Your Face

Donottouchyourface.com is a site built with Tensorflow.js that lets you use your webcam to help remind yourself not to touch your face.

Are you doing something youâd like to be linked here? Post it with #HackToHelp and tag us @ExpWithGoogle.

THOUGHT STARTERS FOR NEW PROJECTS

Here are some prompts that might be helpful for your own projects.

INFORMATION

What are small hacks to share information in your community?

What are small hacks to make information more understandable?

WELL-BEING

What are small hacks to manage mental health?

What are small hacks to manage physical health?

What are small hacks to manage hygiene/habits?

REMOTENESS

What are small hacks to help with remote collaboration?

What are small hacks to help with remote education?

ECONOMICS

What are small hacks to help small businesses in need?

What are small hacks to help nonprofits in need?

TOOLS

Here are some tools/links that could help you get started with your project.

COLLABORATION/COMMUNICATION

These API’s might be useful for exploring ideas around remote work, education, communication, and more:

NOTIFICATIONS / SCHEDULING

These API’s might be useful for exploring ideas around habits and well-being, for projects involving desktop notifications, SMS, phone calls, calendar integration, and more:

CALENDAR API

ELECTRON

TWILIO’S API

CALENDLY

CREATING WEBSITES

There are a lot of approaches for creating simple websites for sharing information with your community. Here are a few tools:

GOOGLE DOCS

↳ (Tip: You can publish a doc to the web via File > Publish)

GITHUB PAGES

↳ (Tip: You can host websites directly from your repo)

SQUARESPACE

GOOGLE SITES