Submitted by CoachesForYou – A support initiative by India’s ICF Coaching Community
Coaching provided to individuals across different segments of society, including first responders, medical professionals, homemakers, coaches, parents, students, seniors and professionals navigating change in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis
Any individual aged 16 and above who needed mental and emotional support was eligible for our services. They could be in any part of the world and could take part in up to three 60-minute coaching sessions at no cost. In addition to the primary goal of helping people in need of mental and emotional support during the pandemic, CoachesForYou was committed to serving the coaching community, in order to “enable the enablers.” It brought together coaches who were keen to use their skills to support their own fraternity, which has also been affected by the crisis. In doing this we created a community of coaches that have been able to hold space for each other, learn, become more resilient and grow.
This initiative saw coaches showing up together in difficult times for the greater good.
Background, Mission & Vision:
CoachesForYou was a spontaneous coming-together of the International Coaching Federation’s coach community in India. Its purpose was to support the community dealing with the trying times following the COVID-19 pandemic. It started in March as a volunteer coach-led collaborative effort of ICF coaches situated across India. Within a quarter, on the back of the good work fueled by noble intentions, word of mouth brought volunteer coaches from different parts of the world including United States, Belgium, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Dubai, South Africa, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. What started off as a seed of positive thought with 10 like-minded coaches has today become a community of 320 socially conscious, passionate volunteers, in just seven months.
The sudden onset of the virus and panic that ensued led to people experiencing uncertainty, anxiety, grief and helplessness. To add to this, prevention efforts like social distancing, lockdowns and limited resources disrupted normal life, posing numerous challenges and breakdowns across society. Boundaries between home and work blurred, resulting in anxiety and stress. There clearly was a need for safety and support — a mechanism that would provide much-needed mental and emotional support that was easily accessible.
CFY sensed this systemic need and believed that, in these times of adversity, confusion and crisis, coaching can provide that crucial support and much-needed safe space. It perceived the latent need of the coaching community to make a difference to those in need through the Gift of Coaching. This confluence of needs fueled the organic growth of the CFY movement.
CFY thereby facilitated the creation of a space where coaches helped society deal with adversity, embrace resilience and grow, by providing mental and emotional support via coaching. All this was made possible by connecting someone to a coach online within 48 hours.
Project Outcomes:
We are proud to say that in the seven months since we began, we have made a real difference to society, and the following statistics bear testimony to it:
- We served requests for 550 pro bono coaching conversations. This was made possible through creative and sustained efforts to drive coaching awareness like the CFY Gift Card, Coaching Awareness Special webinars, a robust and intuitive website, social media drives and institutional partnerships.
- This would translate to a contribution of $70,000 that CFY volunteer coaches have made via their time in the form of a coaching grant to society. It should be noted that all our activities were entirely pro bono to those who sought support and non-commercial in nature.
- An average post-session satisfaction rating of 4.7/5 from clients and an NPS (Net Promoter Score) of 67 speaks to the high quality of coaching provided by our volunteer coaches.
- More than 3,000 people were supported via 30 community webinars on varied topics that enabled coping, inspiration and hope.
- We grew the initial volunteer base of 10 Indian coaches to a thriving community of 320 volunteers from across the globe, purely by word of mouth and recognition of the service performed.
- All of the $2,000 of project activity costs from the last seven months was met entirely by contributions from our volunteer coaches.
- More than 350 coaches took advantage of various support initiatives offered for them.
The CFY movement is proud to carry out the vision of ICF — coaching being an integral part of a thriving society — through this effort. At this crucial time when the world truly needs coaches to serve a global need, we hold our heads high that we rose to that challenge.
