Hong Kong NGO Crossroads Foundation has launched GoodCity.hk, a new series of phone apps funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust which make it easier, faster and more efficient to donate goods to and request goods from Crossroads.

Crossroads has more than 20 years’ experience taking in Hong Kong’s quality donated goods and redistributing them to those in need, with 50 per cent shipped internationally and the rest redistributed in Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong is a generous city,” said Matt Gow, Crossroads’ director of strategy. “People want to see their goods re-used, not trashed, but they don’t always know who needs them.” 

Thanks to the new GoodCity platform, Crossroads can approve and accept goods 90 per cent faster than through traditional donation channels.

“This has literally reduced our turnaround time tenfold.”

To use GoodCity, donors log in to the website or phone app, upload photos of their goods, and after approval, arrange delivery to Crossroads. For NGOs and government bodies, the platform lets them browse Crossroads’ donated goods online and choose those that meet the needs of their clients and projects, then arrange to collect the goods from Crossroads. Since opening the service to NGOs and government bodies, 95 different groups have already used GoodCity to request goods.

GoodCity has been more than five years in the making, with Crossroads’ team of developers testing, refining and innovating to offer a service that works best for Hong Kong. In 2014, donors from the public began using the platform to offer their goods to Crossroads, and last year GoodCity for charities opened for NGOs and government bodies to request goods for their clients and projects. Development continues as GoodCity expands to provide a full set of services for all manner of goods donations to be handled city-wide.

A launch event last week saw strategic partners such as Microsoft Hong Kong and Operation Santa Claus, and corporate donors including retailers Columbia Sportswear and Ikea, join representatives of the government and NGOs to support the new service.

Featured image: Matthew Gow, Crossroads Foundation’s Director of Strategy and GoodCity’s project manager, with Caspar Tsui from the Labour and Welfare Bureau and Bryan Wong, Executive Manager, Charities (Strategy and Business Management), Hong Kong Jockey Club