Finding help on Help Handed is easy, but it’s important to take key actions to ensure a safe and satisfactory result. We provide a more thorough explanation on our How to Find Help page.
Support Center
Below are the options for finding help with our services. Start with “Common Questions,” our fastest route to getting answers.
“What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?”
George Eliot
Answers to Common Questions
How does volunteering work on Help Handed?
Helping someone through Help Handed is easy, but it’s important to take key actions to ensure a safe and satisfactory result. We provide a more thorough explanation on our How to Find Help page.
What type of help can I request on Help Handed?
Helphanded.com is built for real-life, everyday needs — things volunteers can step in and help with. But not everything is allowed. For example, you can’t request money, and you can’t ask for help that legally requires a professional license.
All help requests must be tied to at least one of our approved help types. These cover a wide range of tasks, from yard work and errands to tutoring and companionship. You can associate more than one help type with a help request if needed, but simpler requests may get matched faster.
Review our available help types.
I can’t find an appropriate help type for my help request. What do I do now?
Help Handed provides introductions, but not for just any type of help. Some help types are intentionally missing, but it’s also possible we’ve missed some that would make it easier to connect members (review available help types). We have different answers for each scenario.
We do not connect members for high-risk, home repair-related activities. So you won’t find help types that include electrical, plumbing, gas, roofing, and structural tasks that often require a licensed professional and may require permits. For safety reasons, it is a violation of our Terms of Service for members to perform or request this type of work on a help request. We also do not connect members for automotive repair requests. We encourage any members needing this type of support to contact a licensed professional in their area.
We also do not connect members for other types of help requiring professional licensing, such as medical and legal support.
If you have a help request that does not involve high-risk activity but still don’t find an appropriate help type, please contact us using our online support contact form. Use the “Requesting Help” option for the Topic and include the title of your draft help request in the Message Detail along with your suggested help type. We’ll review your submission and may add the help type if we believe it will improve clarity and connections on the platform.
How much does it cost to be a Help Handed member?
Joining Help Handed is completely free—there are no subscriptions or recurring charges.
You only pay a small introduction fee of $20 when you accept another member’s offer to help. This fee helps cover platform costs and supports a more trusted community. You are not charged a fee for accepting help from a member to whom you’ve already been introduced or from a member who is in shared local registered organization with you.
Introduction Fee: $20
Introduction Fee (shared organization): $0
Once the fee is paid, you will have access to the other member’s contact information so you can contact them to arrange details for your help.
Background checks are required to volunteer for in-person help. They are processed securely through a third-party provider. Completing one is a simple way to build trust with other members. Each member pays for their own background checks if needed:
Advanced Criminal Search: $14
Complete Criminal Search: $32
Motor Vehicle Record Check: $5
Background checks are valid for twelve months and may need to be renewed depending on the location of volunteer help you provide. Visit our Background Checks page to learn more about what’s included in each.
What makes Help Handed different from any other site for finding volunteer help?
Help Handed is different for several reasons. It’s best to visit our Member Benefits page to understand how we are different and why you should join.
Do the volunteers I meet here work for Help Handed?
No. Volunteers on Help Handed are not employees, agents, or representatives of Help Handed.
They are independent individuals choosing to offer help to other members. We do not hire, manage, or supervise volunteers, and we do not control how help is provided.
While some volunteers may choose to complete a background check, Help Handed does not vet or endorse members. It is your responsibility to review profiles, ask questions, and decide who you trust before accepting or offering help.
All interactions and services take place directly between members.
How do background checks work?
Visit our Background Checks page to learn more about each of the background checks you can attach to your profile and what’s included in each.
Background checks are valid for twelve months and may need to be renewed depending on the type of volunteer help you provide.
What do each of the different help request statuses mean?
Once a help request is created, its status may change throughout its lifecycle. All statuses are visible to help request owners, but not all statuses are visible to other viewers at all times.
Draft: This is the status of a help request that has been created but not published for public visibility. It is visible to the help request owner only.
Open: This is the status once the help request is published. It is visible to all website visitors. Other members may offer to help when the request is in this status.
Help Accepted: This is the status once the help request owner has accepted a help offer from another member. Other members whose help was accepted may view help requests in this status.
Help Provided: This is the status once the help request has been marked complete by the help request owner. Other members whose help was accepted when the help request was marked complete may view help requests in this status.
Canceled: This is the status once the help request owner cancels the help request. Once canceled, help requests cannot be reopened. Other members cannot view help requests in this status.
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