How Touch-A-Life Works

Touch-A-Life is designed to harness the power of the Web to bring individuals – people or organizations – together to make the world better, one person at a time. The Web site works in a matter similar to eBay. There people with goods to sell create profiles that display those goods. People interested in buying create profiles that provide their identification and payment history. Buyers then search through the seller information to find things they want. When they do, they can enter a bid. If the bid is successful, the seller informs the buyer, collects the money and sends the product.

Similarly, on Touch-A-Life, people and non-profits in need create avatars that provide basic information on who they are and what specific things they need – for instance, blankets or clothing, school supplies, dental or medical work, or just someone to talk to. These needs are confirmed by Touch-A-Life volunteers. Donors create avatars that include their identification, a thumbnail photo, and indications of their interests and what they can donate.

Unlike most charities that ask primarily for financial donations, Touch-A-Life focuses on donations in kind – either objects or time and skills. A dentist, for instance, might donate free dental work to someone who cannot afford to have their teeth fixed. A shoe store owner might donate gym sneakers to students who cannot afford to buy their own. Someone who can provide time might volunteer to help at a local homeless shelter or to make weekly visits to an isolated elderly person.

Donors search through the donee avatars to find someone they want to help. They contact the individual recipient through the site to make sure that what they have to offer fits the person’s needs and to make appropriate arrangements. For instance, someone sending clothes to a homeless person would need to know where to send them – possibly a homeless shelter or, in the case of a student, a school.

By putting individuals together, the donor knows exactly who is receiving the help and that all of the donation goes to that recipient. Touch-A-Life’s operating expenses are covered by sponsoring businesses and individuals.

As a thank you, donors receive “Kindness Points” for the help they provide. They also gain contact with others that they may continue indefinitely if they wish through the site. And they can see how their generosity has helped another human being.