Warmth & Care Hub

"Warmth & Care Hub" connects communities with resources through an interactive map of shelters, food banks and volunteering opportunities to aid the homeless during the holidays.

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Inspiration

An article on CNA highlighted a shift in the nature of homelessness in Singapore. While the number of street homeless persons dropped by 41% from 2019 to 2021, occupancy in temporary shelters increased over sixfold. This trend indicates that while temporary solutions exist, there is still a gap in accessibility and support for individuals seeking resources. The holiday season is often associated with warmth, care, and giving back. However, this time can be particularly tough for vulnerable individuals. This inspired me to create a platform encouraging community-driven support when compassion is most needed.

What it does

Volunteer Matching & Event Platform

User Roles and Profiles

Volunteer Profiles:

Sign-up/login (via email, Google, or social media). Create a profile with: Name, contact info, and location. Areas of interest (e.g., food drives, shelter work). View signed-up events and participation history.

Organizer Profiles:

Dedicated accounts for organizations (nonprofits, shelters, charities). Features include: Organization name, description, contact details, and logo/banner. Dashboard to post and manage events. Event Posting and Management (Organizer) Organizers can create and manage events: Event title, description, location, date, and time. Type of event (e.g., food drive, clothing donation, meal service). Number of volunteers needed. Status updates (e.g., "Ongoing," "Completed").

Event Discovery and Participation (Volunteer)

Volunteers can browse and filter events based on:

  • Categories (e.g., food drive, shelter work, fundraising).
  • Date and time. #Map Shows nearby events, shelters, and donation centers. #Event Submission Form (For Public/Small Groups) Allow individuals or small groups (e.g., a neighborhood initiative) to post small-scale events: Details about the initiative (e.g., “Winter Coat Giveaway”). ## How we built it
  • Frontend:
  • HTML/CSS
  • Javascript allowed us to present a minimally viable intuitive interface and aesthetic, enabling dynamic content updates for event filters and map interaction
  • Backend
  • Firebase Firestore: using a real-time database to securely store user and event data. ## Challenges we ran into
  • leaflet.js: integrated to display map data and geolocated markers for events and local humanitarian facilities.
  • LocalStorage: used to store user-specific data like profile types and document IDs for seamless navigation
  • Logic that restricts access and modifies content visibility based on user roles and permissions.
  • Events tied to organizer profiles allow users to edit and delete events that only they created
  • dynamically enable/disable inputs and buttons for unauthorized users. ## Accomplishments that we're proud of
  • the backend with login and registration and managing to interface it together with the database
  • the completion of a viable prototype within such a short amount of time
  • the effort that we put in can be seen as we built our application, although it does not look like much we learned a lot of techniques and new forms of code within just 1 week during this holiday.
  • this hackathon allowed us to deepen our understanding of the impact we can make with software development ## What we learned
  • this hackathon gave us valuable experiences for our current modules or web development and a jump start to our final module project, with important elements like account creation, map introduction, and database usage.
  • Excellent practice for a lab test that we have when the holidays are over, deepened our understanding of the aesthetics and format for HTML/CSS.
  • understand the framework of "full" web development and what we should prioritize and work on for future projects. ## What's next for Warmth & Care Hub
  • Enhanced User features
  • donation feature to allow monetary contributions directly through the platform to various charities of choice
  • enable volunteer feedback on completed events
  • Mobile app version
  • mobile app development for Android and iOS for easier access and notifications.
  • Integration with local agencies and non-profits
  • partner with local shelters, non-profits, and food banks to provide real-time updates on their needs and capacity.
  • Improved event discovery
  • Add smart recommendations for volunteers based on their location, preferences, and history
  • analytics dashboard for organizers
  • introduce tools to help organizers analyze event success, such as attendance tracking and post-event reports.
  • direct sign-up through the web app.
  • Volunteers can sign up directly through the web app.
  • Chat feature for community engagement
  • include forums or chat features to connect volunteers organizers and dono
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