Small effort, big impact

Stay at home – this is currently recommended for older people or anyone with a pre-existing medical condition. But what if they need food from the supermarket or important medicines from the pharmacy? It’s a serious problem that has triggered a wave of willingness to help since the outbreak of the corona crisis. Neighborhood help schemes are being set up throughout Switzerland, and volunteers can sign up on various websites to go shopping for people in their neighborhood.

UBS employee Rosalba Mendler is one of the countless volunteers who are currently doing the shopping not only for their families but also for their neighbors. “It’s a no-brainer for me, I didn’t really need to think about it,” she says. The procedure is always the same and – most importantly – contact-free. She gets a shopping list by phone and sets off on her bike for the weekly shopping trip. “Then I drop the groceries off, leaving them outside the door or on the garden table. This way my neighbors have what they need and I don’t have to worry about them catching the virus. It’s a small amount of effort for me, but it makes a huge difference.”

UBS supports her commitment. In light of the challenges posed by the virus, the bank has just doubled the two paid working days it offers all staff every year to get involved in voluntary work, so that people like Rosalba Mendler can continue to shop for those who should not be doing it themselves.