Ever been on a date where you’ve seriously considered going all Mission Impossible and escaping out of a bathroom window somewhere, even if it’s on the second floor? Us too. Maybe it’s because your date is boring, or creepy, or maybe conversation is as dry as the Sahara. Maybe it’s you – maybe you’re freaking out about having to perform for this other person, about being forced under the dating spotlight.

Either way, it’s a helpless feeling and a common one. It’s high time we had a dating revolution. And it might be just around the corner.

What is Good Deed Dating?

The concept of ‘Good Deed Dating’ was founded by Hannah Whitehead about a year ago. When you become a member of Good Deed Dating, you sign up to the volunteering opportunities that appeal most to you (whether that’s helping endangered kittens, or planting trees in cities), and you go along to volunteer with other Good Deed Daters. That’s how you meet your special someone – through doing fun good deeds as a group.

Hannah has worked in the charity sector for seven years, but decided to go part-time when she came up with the idea for a dating site with an altruistic twist, as she knew it had the potential to go big. And it’s only getting bigger by the day. It’s captured everyone’s attention, but why? Here are 10 reasons why Good Deed Dating might just be the future:

1. We’re all pretty bummed out

Remember the days when watching the news wasn’t just like watching a newsreel in an apocalyptic movie world? Or when scrolling through Twitter didn’t feel like flicking through a global Burn Book? Neither do we. That’s why we all need a little hope for the future. Good Deed Dating is a welcome reminder that there are still kind and caring people in the world, all willing to dedicate their Saturdays to doing good deeds… and have a cheeky flirt while doing so, of course…

2. We need a new dating app

‘So I’m with the guy of my dreams. He’s super mature, funny and he’s such a lovely person. We met on Tinder.’ SAID NO-ONE.

Ok, maybe there have been some success stories. But when you are choosing your compatibility based on a few fuzzy pics of flexed muscles, zoomed out group pics, and shadowy selfies, you really could be talking to anyone. Swiping through Tinder profiles means that unphotogenic people don’t get a look in - they don’t even get the chance to have a conversation with the ‘swiper’, which is dumb because personality is a huge game-changer. What if he’s funny? What if she’s the coolest girl you never met? Blind dating is just not cutting it any more as a good way to meet people.

3. It’s safe

Blind dating can also be seriously risky! When you don’t have a clue who a person is in reality, there can be nasty surprises when people don’t match up to their profiles.

Meeting people through volunteering ensures you see a person’s true colours (and actual face). So while you’re doing group activities you can sneakily pick out who you fancy and THEN decide if you want to date them individually.

4. No awkward silences

Going to a bar or a restaurant is great, but it sometimes feels like you are relying on alcohol, or a mouth so stuffed with food you can’t talk, in place of actual conversation.

Good Deed Dating is first and foremost an activity, so even if you are shy and tend to panic about starting conversations, there’s always something to talk about when you are all working together – and there’s no pressure to perform one to one. Phew!

5. Nice guy guaranteed

A good deed dater is nice by default… they’re volunteering cos they’re nice. And nice guys do not finish last. Meeting someone who isn’t gonna rate you out of ten to your face, or laugh about an elderly person on public transport is DEFinitely on our agenda. We’re talking long-term options, here.

6. There’s no problem when they meet the parents

One of the worst parts of dating is the whole meeting the parents fiasco. For some people it’s as easy as ‘yeah, this is my new boyfriend Greg. I like him, so you can deal with it’ but for others the parent intro is the make or break part of a new relationship. Now imagine this ‘Mum, Dad… this is my new boyfriend Greg, I met him while I was volunteering, planting trees to prevent global warming’… HELLO Greg.

7. New experiences

After signing up to a good deed date online, you get an email before the day with all the full details: the time you need to be there and a location map. It’s all very secret service. Going on Good Deed Dates means you are deffo exploring and learning about new things and new places, regardless of whether you are finding the love of your life.

Plus, you might ACTually find the love of your life. Tempting…

8. It's feelgood

Even if you didn’t meet that someone special, you would still return knowing you are a fab person and have something good for the world, and that would give you a warm fuzzy glow like no other. Even if you’re not getting lucky.

27-year-old Good Deed Dater Sophie Plateau, (a fan of sports and George Clooney) couldn’t agree more. “I’m really tired of the shallow ‘swiping’ dating apps available… When you go on a bad date you walk away feeling like you’ve wasted your time and money, when you walk away from a Good Deed Dating even you feel great and that you’ve done something worthwhile, whether you’ve met someone or not, which is such a great feeling.”

9. There's gonna be an app (fingers crossed)

Hannah said that creating a Good Deed Dating app would be the first thing they would do, once they had the money to fund it (they cost a bomb). She said, “I guess the website is just a test in a way to see if the concept can work. If we can prove that then we might be able to get an app, and that would be the dream”. We reckon that would go down a treat!

10. It’s expanding to include younger people

Ok, so there’s an age limit. It’s strictly over 18. BUT there is talk of expansion, and it’s pretty exciting. Good Deed Dating has been talking to single parents who say they would love for their children to come on a family Good Deed Date so they can meet potential partners. So you could effectively play matchmaker for your single parent... coo-ey.

Will Good Deed Dating be a dating trend to watch in the future? Probably. 29-year-old Good Deed Dater Ross Gouldie commented, “with all the bad news around the world at the moment it’s nice to have an organization that’s spreading Love and Charity. Which I think we all need sometimes.”

Sounds about right – we’re all about those love and charity vibes right now. Watch this space!
- Emily Hooley