As the government shutdown continues, people are searching for new ways to help furloughed workers. A group of friends this week launched a site that calls on furloughed workers to post an Instagram video sharing their story in an effort to score a free beer or dinner.
Simon Owens, 29, Vicky Vadlaman, 28, and Will Gordon, 30 created the Adopt a Furloughed Worker Tumblr page on Wednesday after hearing about Unfourlough.us, the online job board for freelance gigs.
See also: Congress Still Gets Paid During the Shutdown — Here's How Much
Furloughed federal employees can upload their videos using #adoptafurloughedworker or send them via email. In turn, if you want to adopt the worker and offer him or her a beer, you can comment on the video to connect.
The creators, three friends who all work for a PR firm in D.C., started thinking about making a funny website in solidarity with people out of a job.
"We all have friends that have been furloughed and they are all kind of bummed out, worried about when their next paycheck is coming," Vladamani told Mashable. "This is like an easy way to buy a beer for somebody who is probably a little bit depressed."
The three also made a test video to show how the website works.

While no one has posted a video yet, people have expressed interest in doing so. However, Vladamani and Owens said they have also received emails from furloughed workers sharing their stories of "real hardship" with them. Although the team said they won't post these videos — as the Tumblr it was supposed to be a lighthearted site — they will help out by connecting the workers with reporters or charitable organizations.
"If we can somehow shed light on their story or put them in touch with someone who can give them real assistance than we'll have had a more powerful impact that I think we ever really intended," Vladamani said.
Image: Chris Furlong/Getty Images