Hotspot

Our web-app revolutionizes the volunteering experience by offering a game-like platform that connects volunteers to NGOs and allows them to earn points and badges as they complete tasks.

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Inspiration

As our dev team is passionate about making a positive impact on the community we decided to create a web-app that makes the volunteering process simpler. By enabling others to more easily create a positive impact we are excited to be able to share this app to connect NGOs and volunteers.

What it does

Users can enter their basic information, share their personality traits set goals and skillsets in their profile. The program will match NGOs with volunteers based on these set attributes in a simple manner. The users can then sort through the provided list of NGOs. Upon completion of tasks the users will be awarded points and badges that are displayed on their profile to provide a greater sense of satisfaction and motivate further work. The front-end and back-end are not yet connected however.

How we built it

The front-end of our web-app was initially made using React and javascript although we were unable to complete it and instead created an initial design using Wix. Our backend was completed with the Springboot framework using Java. The user interface is designed to provide a seamless and intuitive experience for volunteers and NGOs. The client-side code is organized into components that correspond to the different pages and functionality of the application. The volunteer-facing components include pages for browsing and searching for projects, submitting applications, and tracking volunteer hours. The NGO-facing components include pages for creating and managing projects, reviewing applications, and tracking volunteer hours for their projects. The server-side architecture of the application is built using the Spring Boot framework. The server-side code is organized into several layers that correspond to the different parts of the program structure. The model layer includes the entities that represent volunteers, NGOs, and projects, as well as the necessary relationships between them. The controller layer includes the classes that handle the HTTP requests and responses for each part of the program structure. The repository layer includes the classes that interact with the database and provide the necessary data for the controllers.

Challenges we ran into

With the limited time that we had we were unfortunately unable to fully complete the frontend. As we had limited experience with our intended framework React.js, we spent a large portion of time learning and experimenting. As such we did not think we would have the time to finish the UI on time and instead opted to finish it using Wix as an initial mock-up.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are particularly proud that we are able to give back to a larger community and create a positive impact on our surroundings. By empowering other volunteers through a more streamlined process we are hopeful that our program will be able to help both NGOs and volunteers.

What we learned

We were able to learn a large amount especially as we learnt much of the React framework. We also were able to brainstorm future ideas for how we can take this project.

What's next for Hotspot

With the backend in place, the next step would be to build out the frontend of the application. This could involve designing and developing user interfaces that allow volunteers to search for and sign up for volunteer opportunities, and NGOs to manage their projects and communicate with volunteers. Additional features could be added to the application, such as the ability for volunteers to log their hours, leave reviews of projects, and receive notifications about new volunteer opportunities in their area. It's important to collect feedback from users and conduct user testing to identify areas for improvement and make changes to the application accordingly.

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