Cloud SMS Platform, 123-txt enables a local volunteer group to support vulnerable people during Covid-19 crisis
Holme Valley is a large civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, with a population of approximately 30,000 residents. The Holme Valley Covid Mutual Aid group (HVCMA) is a collection of volunteers who have mobilised to provide support to neighbours in need during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their aim is to connect those in isolation and the most vulnerable with required support, such as shopping, emotional support and dog walking, whilst still following government guidance around social distancing.
The group, at its peak had over 500 volunteers, split into smaller groups based on the different villages / areas in the Holme Valley and has so far had 364 requests for help.
Needing to communicate quickly, and sometimes en-masse to volunteers, meant that they needed a communication system that was easily accessible and would provide value for money.
One of the Area Lead volunteers, Rob Isherwood, Service Delivery Manager, Konica Minolta knew of the cloud SMS platform, 123-txt from ProcessFlows | Konica Minolta and was able to recommend the platform to those running the group.
Rob said… “It’s a very testing time, but it gives me great pleasure to support my community and 123-txt is now an integral part of our internal communications”
123-txt makes sending bulk, automated and personalised SMS easy. The platform has a range of interfaces to make sending and receiving SMS messages as easy and intuitive as possible. Mobile chat view allows you to have a seamless 1-to-1 conversation and look back through the conversation history for reference with a single scroll. Due to the centralised, cloud based nature of 123-txt, it is accessible on any device connected to the internet and you can sort messages, search your entire database by name, number, message contents and date, as well as reply and forward directly from the message.
To date, the group has sent out over 8,500 text messages to volunteer helpers.
“Immediate connection to our large body of volunteer helpers is really important. We’ve used it to keep people up-to-date, alert them to guidance and to give them support and thanks. We want to say a big Thank You to Konica Minolta for supporting HVCMA and enabling us to provide this essential contact”
Sarah, Internal Communications
Holme Valley Covid Mutual Aid