Volunteering in online communities

Red Cross Friendchat

The Red Cross Friendchat is a low-threshold platform open to anyone interested. Online discussions are arranged several times a week either as chats or video meetings. Participants can join the online discussions without prior registration.

Role of the volunteer

Every discussion in a Red Cross Friendchat is supported and moderated by at least two volunteers. One of the volunteers’ most important tasks is to ensure that the guidelines for respectfull online conversations are upheld in the discussion. Volunteers also help activate the conversation and ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate.

competence, and the ability to create and encourage a safe and engaging discussion atmosphere when needed. We are building a larger pool of volunteers, so each person can sign up for volunteer shifts according to their own schedules. We hope volunteers can commit to at least one shift per month for a period of six months.

Discussions in the Friendchat are organized in different languages depending on volunteer availability. You can take part in discussions at least in Finnish, Swedish and English.

How to Get Involved

Once you have completed the Friend Course and the self-study training As an online helper at the Finnish Red Cross, you can sign up for the volunteer role through OMA Red Cross. New volunteers are invited to Teams meetings where shared practices and the Ninchat platform are introduced. Volunteers are also added to a shared WhatsApp group.

Checklist for volunteers in duty

Checklist for volunteering at Friendchat

Remember that you can always ask for tips and support in the volunteers’ shared WhatsApp group or from the staff member responsible for the activities!

 

The “Talking About Loneliness” groups are peer-support groups led by volunteers and intended for people experiencing loneliness. The groups meet 5-8 times and each group is facilitated by at least two Red Cross friend volunteers. The groups can be held either as chat-based sessions or video meetings. They can also be tailored to specific age groups or target audiences. The material is available in Finnish, Swedish and English, and there is also an easy-to-read Finnish version.

Talking about loneliness, video guides:

Presentation of the Talking about loneliness peer groups

Volunteers´role when facilitating the group

1st Meeting: Starting the group

2nd Meeting: What can cause loneliness

3rd Meeting: Surprising power of thoughts

4th Meeting: How well do we know ourselves?

5th Meeting: The significance of the past

 

Slides to download:
Talking about loneliness_slides in English

 

Using Ninchat platform

• Online Meeting Place is condected on digital platform called Ninchat. 
  
  
• You need to register and log in to Ninchat via link: https://ninchat.com/new/#/x/login
  
  
• It is important to use newer version of Ninchat to make sure that you have all the functions you need. You are using the newer version if there is "new" in the URL (the older version has "app" in the URL). 
  
  
• After registering to Ninchat you´ll get invitation link to the channels from the coordinator of volunteer activity. 
  
  
• You´ll also get an introduction to using Ninchat on a Teams-meeting. 
  
  
• Remember to log out from Ninchat when not using the platform!