How volunteer uses digital skills to help hospice during lockdown
Ryan Fox has been volunteering his digital skills to help the Saint Francis Hospice, Havering-atte-Bower. Picture: Saint Francis Hospice - Credit: Archant
Ryan Fox has been volunteering his digital skills during lockdown to help the Saint Francis Hospice team.
I was recently enjoying backpacking around the world — until the coronavirus pandemic cut my adventures short.
Since returning from Asia to Romford, I’ve been voluntarily offering my digital marketing skills to Saint Francis Hospice.
Travelling wasn’t cheap, so while I can’t make a huge donation to the hospice financially, I can give my time, which is equally important.
I’m a digital optimisation specialist. In layman’s terms: I improve the performance of websites and make them more user-friendly through data and analytics.
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As we adapt to life indoors amid the pandemic, I’ve noted a significant difference in how people use the hospice’s site and the internet as a whole.
It’s interesting to see how people’s online patterns have shifted since the outbreak of Covid-19. There’s been an enormous boost in people wanting to support the hospice through the pandemic, and it’s great to see the community coming together.
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One of the key things I’m hoping that I can help with is bringing in more donations — whether that be through the Lottery or Urgent Appeal.
I’m looking at which pages are underperforming, and how we can improve those.
I’ve worked for household names such as Channel Four, the BBC, Economist, and Which? — yet Saint Francis Hospice will be the first charity to appear alongside them on my CV.
It’s such an incredible feeling to know that I’ve made an impact and helped people. Volunteering at the hospice will also give me more confidence in my new role with Eurostar and relocating to live in Lyon, France.
READ MORE: ‘If there’s one positive thing to come out of the pandemic, it’s the community spirit’
I’ll be working from home on my laptop for the considerable future, so I’ll still be able to help the hospice from across the Channel.
Life may be showing signs of normality, but the hospice is still feeling the full effects of the pandemic.
The patients and their families need you now — more than ever before. I hope that my work has made the pages where you can help — such as the hospice’s Lottery and Urgent Appeal — just that little bit easier for you to navigate.
If you’d like to find out how you can do something incredible by volunteering, go to volunteering@sfh.org.uk
