In the early hours of Friday 20 September, a wave of determination will sweep across the globe, as millions of World Cleanup Day heroes wake up to start their day of cleaning up our trash-polluted lands. But this year, a new hero joins the ranks of volunteers and leaders striving for a cleaner planet – the Let's Do It app!
Launched by the Let’s Do It World NGO, the Let’s Do It app has been designed with our dedicated cleanup leaders, committed partners and passionate volunteers in mind. Thanks to the mobile app and its associated web app, anyone can quickly and easily promote, fundraise for, and report the impact of their cleanups.
The app is powered by the environmental FinTech NGO Planet Heroes who are spearheading Let’s Do It World initiatives in Poland. The Planet Heroes team has been getting people excited about cleaning up nature since 2019, through both their global online environmental action platform as well as their World Cleanup Day mobilisation efforts in Poland. But in 2023, the team came to the Let’s Do It World headquarters with a well-received offer. Karolina Gurgul, leader of Let’s Do It Poland and Head of Communications for Planet Heroes, explains:
“Last year, we began discussions on how to assist the wider Let’s Do It World community technologically. Our platform is used by people from all over the world to reliably report on their cleanups. So we wanted to give such a tool to the Let’s Do It World community as well.”
After a one-year pilot of an online platform for registering volunteers and reporting data for World Cleanup Day events around the world, feedback from the Let’s Do It World network made it clear that what we needed was an app. Boosted by the positive feedback and evident potential impact of their offer, the Planet Heroes team set about making it happen! Now, with two months to go before World Cleanup Day 2024, the app is live and ready for use.
Whether you’re a cleanup leader, volunteer, or partner organisation, here are 7 reasons to use the Let’s Do It app:
The main aim of the Let's Do It app is to give cleanup leaders and volunteers a simple, user-friendly way to quickly report their cleanup efforts. Leaders have shared that it can be hard to find the time to report the cleanup after it’s happened, along with all the other related tasks on their table. With the release of the app, cleanup leaders and volunteers can now report their impact, upload photos, and submit their waste data ‘on the go’ – all while still at the cleanup site.
With a global event as large as World Cleanup Day, everyone involved is itching to know what impact we’ve had as soon as the event is over. Just how much waste did we manage to collect together? How many millions of people came out to join in on the big day? If all teams within the Let’s Do It World network are using the same streamlined reporting process, we can share our impact with our LDIW country leaders, partners, funders, volunteers and the media without delay.
As a movement whose core purpose is ridding the world of waste, getting verified data on the measurable environmental impact of our activities is an important task. If we’re secure in the knowledge that we’re presenting a true picture of our achievements, then we can proudly and confidently communicate our impact to the world, and ensure our efforts are recognised and valued by everyone. The latest developments in the world of tech are helping us achieve this – AI technology supports the app’s human verification processes, to ensure that the ‘before, during and after’ photos uploaded for each cleanup are verified for authenticity.
As Karolina explains, this was a key motivation behind the creation of the Let’s Do It app:
“We believe that declarations are not enough: we need data for each action, backed up by photos. Verified data on cleanup results gives credibility to the Let’s Do It World organisation in the eyes of our global partners.”
As well as tracking the impact of the wider network, the Let’s Do It app gives everyone the chance to track the positive environmental impact of their own personal efforts. By calculating the CO2 offset by the amount of trash collected, the app provides a tangible measure of the difference you’re making. This will allow our volunteers and Let’s Do It World teams to see the real environmental benefits of their work, giving a sense of accomplishment and extra motivation to keep up the great work. Data like this helps remind us that every piece of trash counts, and every cleanup contributes to a cleaner, healthier planet.
An interesting new development for our network is the inclusion of a crowdfunding feature. If willing sponsors are recruited by cleanup leaders, then volunteers can receive monetary rewards for their efforts, and organisations can secure donations to fund their ongoing cleanup initiatives. We hope this will offer an easy way for corporate, governmental or private donors to fund the cleaning of our planet, and give them verified evidence of the impact from their valued investments.
As we’ve often seen in our movement, on top of the shared desire for a clean and healthy planet, recognition can be a key motivator for many volunteers. As a result, the app has some built-in features to help celebrate their important efforts. Through it, cleanup organisers can receive certificates to recognise the contributions of volunteers, as a gesture of their gratitude and appreciation. With the certificates, volunteers can proudly share their achievements with their communities, which we hope will inspire others to join the cause and contribute to future cleanups. The Planet Heroes team will also provide World Cleanup Day country leaders with stats on which cleanups or regions made the biggest impact on the day, so their efforts can be given some well-earned limelight.
The Let's Do It mobile app is integrated with the original web app, meaning users can access both with the same login. While the mobile app is purely for reporting on cleanup results, the web app allows quick and easy registration of a cleanup event on a global interactive map. This means all the environmental heroes of the world can easily find a cleanup near them, register to volunteer, and invite their friends, family, colleagues, and neighbours to get in on the action!
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Download the app and give it a try! As it’s newly released on the app stores this month, the Planet Heroes team are keen to hear feedback if you encounter any issues or have ideas for improvements, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Download it on the App Store or the Google Play Store.
Together, let's harness the power of technology for a clean and healthy planet!
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