You may have already heard about the charity themed hack day that we’re holding on August 10th. The Hack for Good is an opportunity for creatives to come together for one day to create something to benefit a particular charity theme: and we asked you – the general public – to decide what this particular theme was.
After running a public poll, and receiving over 260 votes, we’re pleased to say that the winning theme has been decided:
Our Hack for Good will dedicate an entire day to creating something to benefit ‘Homelessness Services’.
Homelessness is a cause that's close to our collective hearts. We've been working with Step by Step, an amazing local charity working tirelessly to prevent youth homelessness, for over a year now. We also have team members who have worked within homelessness charities in the past.
Here's what Jess Oliver, Head of Fundraising at Step by Step has to say about the event;
"We're excited for Hack for Good because we don't have the time or knowledge to think of solutions to our day to day problems, we're excited to see what they come up with."
With the theme selected, we’re now looking to get suggestions from any homelessness organisations – big or small – that might have an issue that they, or their beneficiaries, need solving. We'll spend the day hacking solutions to these problems, giving back something productive and beneficial to the cause which is so dear to us.
Words of Wisdom
If you’ve ever walked down Winchester High Street you’ve probably seen the Big Issue seller, Kev. He’s a bit of a local hero in Winchester, having turned on the Christmas lights last year. We told him about Hack for Good and he offered to record this message for us. Here are a few of his words of wisdom:
"If everybody helped the next man, then the world would be a better place to live."
As we’ve mentioned before, we won't be doing this on our own. On the day, we'll be joined by some of our friends from Rareloop, Hinge and The Bot Platform. We’ve also invited students from the University of Winchester's Digital and Creative courses to put forward a team to take part in Hack for Good. The teams will be caffeinated by BySea Coffee, and sugar levels are being maintained through a contribution from Steadfast Collective.
We will be avoiding some of the pitfalls of charity hack days thanks to our cause related contributors; Step by Step, Shelter, the Society of St James and Winchester City Council who are all working within homelessness and housing services, and have shared insights into problems requiring solutions on the day. We are hoping to have a representative from one of these organisations on hand throughout the day to ensure that the hack remains focused on delivering a solution that's needed. Thanks to all of our partners as we go full steam ahead into Friday.
Hack for Good at the University of Winchester
To make sure we’ve got enough space to hack, we’ll be moving out of our office and into the larger space offered by the kind people running the Digital Media and Design course at the University of Winchester. They’ve got a really cool space up there, with all the tech toys and gadgets we could ever dream of – 3D printers, VR equipment, the lot.
What’s Next?
In the lead up to the event, and on the day itself, you’ll be able to follow our progress on social media using the hashtag #Hackforgood. We’ll be posting progress photos and other cool stuff throughout the day, showing off the amazing things the teams decide to build.
