Where people are fleeing bombs and rockets, help can't come quickly enough. Tobias Häßner, a member of the parish leadership of the Evangelical Free Church PS23 in Crailsheim, reports what has been made possible with a proprietary app.
In our community we use our own app very actively. There are many events for children, young people, adults and seniors, as well as house groups and small groups on a wide variety of topics. With the help of the app kit from Communi, we now have our own app with the name of our community: PS23. All of our events should be organized using it. The app has now become an integral part of our community life. There are numerous groups on all kinds of topics, not just official ones. We can often welcome a few new members to our church community app after services.
The war breaks out
When the rockets hit Kiev in March last year and many people fled Ukraine, I heard from a work colleague that he and his community had made a trip to the border to pick up stranded refugees and accommodate them in their community. They wanted to go again the next weekend. I immediately said: We're in too! If there is a social task that our community should be involved in at the moment, then it is this! That same evening I contacted the other members of our community leadership via the app and everyone immediately agreed. It was clear to us that we would be most efficient if we worked together with other communities. In the end there were three of us: two communities from Rot am See and ourselves. For us in Crailsheim, the central communication platform was our community app.
Direct help
The response from our community was overwhelming. Almost every community member was able to get involved in some way, whether young or old, man or woman: with trips to the border, specialist knowledge of asylum work or language skills, minibuses, apartments, donated furniture, toys or everyday items...
I never expected that so many people would be activated at such short notice. The monetary donations alone amounted to over 30,000 euros, not to mention all the time invested. We were able to offer over 300 refugees a new home in Crailsheim and the surrounding area.
Communication via app
This would not have been possible without the community app. We use it as a messenger and were able to plan and implement every detail in real time: when trips take place, when and where how many people arrive, what they need - from toothbrushes to emergency doctors. This would never have worked via an email distribution list or on the homepage. The channels are too slow and not responsive enough for that.
