Who do you turn to when you’re dealing with a dying relative, a new baby, a demanding job … and you need help with basic tasks like washing your underwear?

That was the problem that faced Jacqui Bloom, the 97th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers.

Jacqui’s friends were quick to ask what they could do to help – but how could she ask them to wash her underwear for her?

This personal experience of feeling overwhelmed inspired Jacqui to create The Helping Hub, a website that makes it easy for people to ask for and offer help.

Gifts might include babysitting, cooking, cleaning, pet-sitting and more.

Jacqui has big plans for The Helping Hub, which was founded in 2018. As far as she knows, there is no other platform like it in the world. Her aim is to entrench The Helping Hub in Australia and then take it global.

It seems Jacqui was tailor-made for this role, and not just because she knows what it’s like to desperately need help.

Jacqui has years of business experience, after more than a decade at the helm of a fabrics business. And she’s got a warm, caring personality, which fits perfectly with The Helping Hub’s people-first philosophy.