PitchIn a Helping Hand

Over the past few months, India has been hit by a tsunami of Covid-19 cases that have set new records, putting last year’s first wave to shame. With funeral pyres burning morning, noon and night around the country, it has been a devastating situation.

The lack of resources to combat this pandemic has many citizens distressed and for rightful reasons. It has been a dark few months for many families that have been affected by the virus, whether it’s directly or indirectly. But, if this pandemic has shown as anything, it is that the human spirit is resilient and will never waiver.

It’s during the tough times that people shine the brightest. And the people of India have, in their own way, been helping each other out. Be it through foods banks, volunteering at hospitals despite the fear of contracting this dreaded disease, donating blood, doing errands for the sick and old, helping migrant workers reach their hometowns during their exodus, the true spirit of humanity has shown itself.  

Everyone is doing their bit, and just like every drop makes an ocean, every act of kindness is making each day a little more bearable for the distraught. It is these little thoughtful acts that make us more humane and bring hope for the future. 

Childhood friends Riddhi and Rhea were both voluntarily teaching coding, via an online Stanford class, to people around the world when the second wave started to engulf India. It dawned on them that there were around 13,000 people a part of their course and that more than 30% of those people were Indians. They wanted to help contribute to fighting the pandemic, and they decided to make use of this amazing community to do so.

Riddhi says, “This project was born from the simple question, What can I do for India while the country battles Covid?”. So, after brainstorming, Riddhi and Rhea decided to start PitchIn, an online platform that connects people from all across the world and from various walks of life. Here you can have one-on-one conversations via Zoom or Google Meet with other professionals from your field or simply connect with someone who shares similar hobbies and passions as you do.

Now you’re probably wondering how PitchIn helps contribute to Covid-19 relief? Well, it is rather simple, to connect with another person on PitchIn you have to donate to any organisation that is working towards providing support in combating the virus in India. Once you donate to the organisation of your choice, you have to upload your donation receipt or screenshot of your transaction as proof and once confirmed, your call can begin!

Having volunteered their time to teach others coding and seeing this idea being implemented previously in the tech world, Riddhi and Rhea knew that connecting with other people who share your passion can be extremely powerful. Knowing that someone has donated money to help Covid-19 relief to interact with you can be incredibly validating, and it helps spread a lot of positivity which is something that is needed during these tough times. That’s why PitchIn aims to create a two-fold impact through the conversations facilitated on their platform. They wish to impact not just the lives supported through the donations made, but also the people using their platform to connect with others.

The two have been work in tandem with their team to get this initiative up and running. While Riddhi handles everything content-related, Rhea is the head of tech and whipped up the website in just 3 days.

PitchIn might have just been operational for a week, but that’s all it took for them to raise 2lakhs for Covid-19 relief! They’ve had over 85 conversations created on their platform with people from different professions, be it venture capitalists, bakers, sportsmen etc. Their platform has become a place where people go for career advice, to meet professionals in their field or if they want to learn a new skill, and so much more.  

Riddhi and Rhea have currently been volunteering their time towards PitchIn as the platform doesn’t accept any fees, all one needs to do is donate to use it. Overwhelmed with such a positive and they are working towards expanding their platform so that it’s more accessible to people globally in order to raise more funds for Covid-19 relief. 

Their close friends and family – Saniya, Yeshoda, Niyati, Deepali, Sachi, Megha, Kartik and Muskaan are also volunteering their time to build the platform!

All you have to do is click here to visit their platform yourself and set up a virtual #conversationforadonation 

 Written By Jessica Albuquerque.

A master of being a Jack of all Trades, A method in madness some may say. I’m just a girl on a never-ending journey, Standing on the precipice of my next big story.

Week 20, May 2021