YMCA Volunteer Portal

The YMCA Volunteer Portal uniquely matches you with opportunities that align with your values and the YMCA’s mission, from educating youth to supporting fundraisers in your community.

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About the Project

Inspiration

Our project was inspired by the need to make volunteering more accessible and meaningful. Many potential volunteers struggle to find opportunities that align with their interests, skills, and schedules. We wanted to create a user-focused platform that not only connects people with nearby volunteer roles but also encourages engagement by highlighting opportunities that truly match their passions.

What We Built

We developed a volunteer-facing website that helps users:

  • Discover volunteer opportunities nearby based on their interests and availability.
  • Filter events by passion areas such as working with youth, seniors, fitness, or community projects.
  • Choose between one-off events or ongoing series.
  • View upcoming events hosted by the YMCA and quickly sign up to make an impact in their community.

Our solution contributes to the YMCA’s mission by increasing volunteer participation and helping more people find roles that fit them, ultimately strengthening community engagement.

Technical Details

  • Backend: Python with Flask
  • Frontend: React
  • API Integration: VolunteerMatters API to access member info, categorize volunteer opportunities, and find upcoming YMCA events.
  • Framework Support: Tembo was used to generate a basic coding framework and assist with troubleshooting.

Architecture Overview

  1. React frontend interacts with a Python Flask backend.
  2. Backend calls the VolunteerMatters API to retrieve volunteer and opportunity data.
  3. Event recommendation system prioritizes matches based on user passions, distance, and event type (one-off vs series).

Technical Challenges Overcome

  • Learning how to use and parse the VolunteerMatters API effectively.
  • Designing a recommendation system that balances passions, location, and event type.
  • Managing time constraints to prioritize core features for the hackathon MVP.

Team Members

  • Logan Muhlen (Computer Engineering) – Frontend developer
  • Cameran Beason (Mechanical Engineering) – Backend developer
  • Jonah Baldwin (Electrical Engineering Technology/ Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology) – Technical Support
  • Andy Au (Cybersecurity Engineering) – Technical Support

What We Learned

  • How to integrate external APIs and structure data for frontend consumption.
  • Best practices for building a responsive web app with React and Python.
  • Strategies for designing recommendation systems that are simple, fair, and user-friendly.
  • How to work within tight time constraints and make thoughtful trade-offs on features.

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