Australian Idol‘s Kim Cooper becomes an angel ambassador to help out lockdown isolated

Australian Idol star Kim Cooper is using her voice to spread the word about Geelong’s Angel Next Door online platform as a crucial helping hand for neighbours isolated by the coronavirus lockdown.

The Ocean Grove singer says the website can play a vital role in connecting people who need help with people who want to help.
A full-time carer for her dad John, Kim has been performing free concerts for her street and helping elderly neighbours with their shopping during the COVID-19 shutdown.
But she wanted to do more and agreed to be the face of Angel Next Door – designed by Geelong Young Entrepreneur of the Year Aamir Qutub in tandem with developer Villawood Properties.
The Angel website – angelnextdoor.com.au – is a secure site helping people with shopping, medicines, chores and other basic needs they can’t access.
“During this time, it’s so important that we come together as a community to support those around us,” Kim said.
“We can’t all save the world right now but we can definitely make a positive difference to our little slice of it.
“It can be as simple as cooking a meal or doing a grocery shop for someone in your street who needs a little support; a small gesture can go a long way.”
Villawood Properties has turned its Geelong Ring Road messaging at Wandana to the cause with giant corten letters spelling out #angelnextdoor to thousands of motorists driving past each day.
“This is a wonderful idea to connect people who need help with people who’d like to help,” Villawood’s Rory Costelloe said.
Web designer Aamir Qutub says he built Angel Next Door in response to a flurry of social media groups trying to help local residents and businesses.
He wanted to do likewise but wanted something more secure to avoid scammers and hackers exploiting vulnerable people’s private details, and something simple.
Angel Next Door drew on Villawood’s residential database to get off the ground, racked up almost 3,000 registered users in 10 days and is growing rapidly.
“As soon as Aamir explained the concept to me, knowing how much stress and suffering is in the community, I immediately realised its great potential,” Mr Costelloe said.
Mr Qutub said people needed to register their details with Angel Next Door, and what help they can offer and what help they might need.
“The nearest neighbours are rallied via the website and then spring into action,” he said.