Walmart and Nextdoor launching "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" program

The program was created to make it easier for neighbors to help each other get needed essentials during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nextdoor members will now be able to request assistance or offer to help someone in their community by coordinating the pickup and delivery of their groceries, medications and other essentials with a neighbor who is already planning a shopping trip to their local Walmart store.

This service is launching on April 23, 2020 and is available to everyone in the U.S. All Walmart store locations – more than 4,700 stores – can be shopped as a part of this program and Nextdoor is where people can connect with a “helper” or a “helpee.”

“I’ve seen first-hand the countless ways our Walmart team is working together during this challenging time, leading with humanity, compassion and understanding to serve our customers,” said Janey Whiteside, Walmart’s Chief Customer Officer. “We’re continuing to do that through our new program with Nextdoor. We’re connecting neighbors to each other so that more members of our communities have access to essential items, while limiting contact and the number of people shopping in our stores.”

* From there, members click on the “Groups” tab and will see Walmart stores in their area pinned to the top of the page.

* Members will then be prompted to share a message in the group feed where they can indicate if they need help or want to help.

* Once members connect in the feed they can work out details of the shopping trip on the message board or direct message each other to work on the specifics. Neighbors are encouraged to utilize contact-free payment options and delivery methods.

“We’re inspired everyday by the kindness of people around the world who are stepping up and helping out. In recent weeks, we’ve been blown away by the number of members who have raised their hand to run an errand, go to the grocery store, or pick up a prescription for a neighbor,” said Sarah Friar, Nextdoor CEO. “We’re grateful for Walmart's partnership to make this important connection between neighbors around vital services, and we’re proud to come together to ensure everyone has a neighborhood to rely on.”

The “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” program builds on Nextdoor’s recently launched “Groups” feature which enables members to organize around a shared interest or project. Over the last few weeks, Nextdoor has seen a 7x increase in people joining groups to help one another – from checking in with the elderly and vulnerable to running errands for those who simply need a helping hand.

Walmart store locations and hours where “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” is available and can be found on Nextdoor’s “Help Map.”

Building connections in the real world is a universal human need. That truth, and the reality that neighborhoods are one of the most important and useful communities in our lives, have been a guiding principle for Nextdoor since the beginning. Today, neighbors rely on Nextdoor in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, and Canada, with many more to come.

Nextdoor is a privately-held company based in San Francisco with backing from prominent investors including Benchmark, Shasta Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Riverwood Capital, Bond, Axel Springer, Comcast Ventures, and others.