{"id":9657,"date":"2020-05-14T15:32:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T14:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=9657"},"modified":"2023-01-16T17:04:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:04:43","slug":"using-ringcentral-connect-collaborate-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/using-ringcentral-connect-collaborate-volunteers\/","title":{"rendered":"Using RingCentral to Connect and Collaborate with Volunteers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A couple of weeks ago, RingCentral teamed up with UC Today to run <a href=\"https:\/\/ucsummit.com\/ringcentral\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CC Expo: Virtually Together<\/a>. This virtual expo focussed on the practical applications of cloud communications and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/contact-centre\/overview.html\">contact centre<\/a> and the tangible benefits they can bring to businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among the sessions available was an interview with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/avrilchester\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avril Chester<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, founder and CEO of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cancercentral.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cancer Central<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Avril is an expert in technology and strategy, and won Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2019 Women in IT Awards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following her own encounter with cancer, Avril set up Cancer Central in early 2018 to support cancer sufferers with the not-so-obvious considerations. For example, explains Avril, providing information about the hairdressers who supply wigs to those in need, and signposting to taxi services that support radiotherapy sessions. Cancer Central, in short, centralises the information around cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t<style>\r\n\t\t\t@media (min-width: 768px) {\r\n\t\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-img {\r\n\t\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\r\n\t\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-img img {\r\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta {\r\n\t\t\t\tbackground: #001138;\r\n\t\t\t\tpadding: 30px;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-copy {\r\n\t\t\t\tpadding: 0 30px;\r\n\t\t\t\toverflow: hidden;\r\n\t\t\t\tcolor: #fff;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-copy .btn-primary {\r\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t<\/style>\r\n\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta  CID-cta-2FdM5dTp IID-cta-69ddfb32b7555\"\r\n\t\t\tdata-dl-custom-type=\"cta\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta-img\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/CX-Covid-offer.png\" alt=\"Call to action banner\">\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta-copy\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<span style=\"font-size: 24px; line-height: 30px;\">FREE contact centre seat licences to get your agents working from home.<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"text-center\" style=\"display: block;\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"rc-cta-shortcode btn btn-primary btn-lg\" data-dl-element=\"button\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg\" style=\"margin-top: 16px; font-weight: bold;\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Click for more details\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/lp\/covid19-cx-offer.html\" target=\"_blank\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-dl-additional-info=\"FREE contact centre seat licences to get your agents working from home.\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-name=\"FREE contact centre seat licences to get your agents working from home. | Apply today\">Apply today<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\n<h2>Cominnovation<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After overcoming her own confrontation with cancer and returning to the workplace, Avril spent time in the non-profit sector trying to find out how she could help make support and information available to those who are searching for it. There was no such framework in place, so Avril went about creating it herself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Avril describes the initiative, it\u2019s \u2018cominnovation\u2019 \u2013 a combination of community and innovation. Volunteers bring their specific skill sets to the table, offering assistance on a pro-bono basis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since its inception in January 2018, Cancer Central has attracted over 30,000 donated hours from over 200 individuals and 30 organisations. Besides facilitating contributions from individuals, Cancer Central is also a platform for a number of companies to fulfil CSR initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last year, Avril met a RingCentral representative at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.charityitleaders.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Charity IT Leaders<\/a> event and discovered the opportunity to implement a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/office\/unified-communications.html\">unified communications<\/a> platform for Cancer Central. The \u2018unified\u2019 part of the platform performs an essential function \u2013 with so many volunteers using multiple channels of communication, along with multiple methods of collaboration and document sharing, creating a single interface to unify that process was invaluable.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Network connection<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Cancer Central is a network of volunteers, connecting multiple users remotely is essential to providing a fit-for-purpose platform. Using RingCentral Office, says Avril, makes it much easier to communicate, share and collaborate on documents, and conduct video calls with multiple participants. It\u2019s also important to have an element of levity in communication; Avril appreciates the availability of GIFs and emojis that can help to convey sentiment without having to rely on words. All told, RingCentral creates the collaborative mechanism that allows Cancer Central to perform its function.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From personal experience, Avril explains, sometimes it\u2019s by chance you discover the information that can help you \u2013 perhaps simply by being in the waiting room with someone at the same time \u2013 and it\u2019s this element of luck that Cancer Central aims to remove by centralising as much information as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To find out how you can become involved in Cancer Central, contact Avril via <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cancercentral.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. To help organisations overcome the effects of Coronavirus on the operations, RingCentral is offering free RingCentral Office licences to non-profit organisations. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/covid19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visit the website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and get started today.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Interview in full<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019d like to hear more from Avril, you can watch the full interview here:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"rc-responsive-embed\"><iframe title=\"Cancer Central Cutomer Story  - RingCentral Virtually Together\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_hxyug8lzdE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p class=\"uc-expo-cta-2 text-center IId-bottom-banner-144903516 CId-bottom-banner-1098205596\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px; line-height: 30px;\">You can now get <strong>free<\/strong> contact centre seat licences to help get your agents working from home.<\/span><span class=\"text-center\" style=\"display: block;\" data-dtm-element=\"button\" data-dtm-context=\"bottom-cta\" data-dtm-additional-info=\"Apply today\"><a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg\" style=\"margin-top: 16px; font-weight: bold;\" title=\"Apply today\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/lp\/covid19-cx-offer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-dtm-name=\"Bottom CTA\">Apply today<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A couple of weeks ago, RingCentral teamed up with UC Today to run CC Expo: Virtually Together. This virtual expo focussed on the practical applications of cloud communications and contact &hellip; <a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/using-ringcentral-connect-collaborate-volunteers\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Using RingCentral to Connect and Collaborate with Volunteers&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":9661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,3],"tags":[56,164,178,39,37,54],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Using RingCentral to Connect and Collaborate with Volunteers | RingCentral UK Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Avril Chester, founder and CEO of Cancer Central, is an expert in technology and strategy, and won Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2019 Women in IT Awards.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/using-ringcentral-connect-collaborate-volunteers\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Using RingCentral to Connect and Collaborate with Volunteers | RingCentral UK Blog","description":"Avril Chester, founder and CEO of Cancer Central, is an expert in technology and strategy, and won Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2019 Women in IT Awards.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/using-ringcentral-connect-collaborate-volunteers\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RingCentral Team","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":":\/gb\/en\/blog\/using-ringcentral-connect-collaborate-volunteers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/using-ringcentral-connect-collaborate-volunteers\/"},"author":{"name":"RingCentral Team","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cc4f043d2b478862a8622c28b0ebd08c"},"headline":"Using RingCentral to Connect and Collaborate with Volunteers","datePublished":"2020-05-14T14:32:49+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-16T17:04:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/using-ringcentral-connect-collaborate-volunteers\/"},"wordCount":597,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["collaboration","customersuccess","employee experience","remote working","small business","unified communications"],"articleSection":["Events","UC - 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