8 Ways to Give Back With Waze

Find a donation site, help a fellow Wazer on the road, or spread some cheer this season.

Published in

Waze

3 min readNov 11, 2020

At Waze, we’re grateful to everyone in our Community for inspiring us this year, from the volunteer map editors who added thousands of food banks and health centers to the map, to the everyday Wazers out on the road reporting hazards and helping us fight traffic.

There’s a lot of 2020 left, which means there are still plenty of opportunities to give back to your community.

1. Find a nearby donation site

Still need to drop off that bag of clothes that’s been in your car for three months? Use Waze to find the nearest donation center. You can also find local food pantries by searching for our Food Bank pin.

The amount of effort it takes to put an object into the car is weirdly not at all equal to the effort it takes to remove it.

2. Watch out for fellow Wazers

(Don’t worry, we’ve all been there).

Is it me, or can you tell when the person in front of you is getting the same Waze directions since they’re so specific?!

3. Report a hazard on the road

Whether you’re on a road trip or just heading to the grocery store, every report makes the road a safer place.

4. Volunteer in your community

Now is a great time to start volunteering (not that there’s ever a bad time). Try searching for a cause you’re passionate about on Idealist or VolunteerMatch.

Pro tip: Use Planned Drives to help fir your new commitment into your schedule.

5. Come to the rescue with the Waze SOS feature

Drivers can use our SOS feature to request help from fellow Wazers on the road. You can spot a driver in need by looking for the lifesaver icon on the map. Cape optional.

6. Join the Waze Map Editing community

Our volunteer Map Editors are super welcoming and are always looking for more help. Read our Waze Oral History to learn more about what our Map Editors get up to and the special skills you need to be one (spoiler alert: you don’t need any special skills).

7. Spread some cheer with the Waze voice recorder

Did you know you can record your own voice giving directions in Waze? Record directions to brighten up a loved one’s journey, or explore your best impressions to add some joy to your commute.

8. Share your feedback (seriously, we love it)

Unlike the one in your office that eventually got recycled, we really do read the notes in our suggestion box and use them to make the app better.

What ideas would you add to this list? Add your favorite way to give back in the comments.