Crowdsourcing Housing for Japan

Boulder nonprofit “Sparkrelief” responded immediately with housing relief for Japanese earthquake victims.  Sparkrelief created Quakehousing.org where those displaced can find offers of housing posted by people with free rooms.

A crisis of this magnitude can have far reaching emotional effects.  Providing easily accessible information through a simple interface reduces stress when searching for relief.

Often, people who want to help feel powerless and are uncertain how to help.  The Sparkrelief platform connects people who want to help with victims in immediate need.

Quakehousing.org has a simple to use interface that allows victims to select their housing preferences. Housing can be searched by geographic location, children and pet preferences, bathroom and even parking options.

Fourmilefirehelp.com, a Sparkrelief platform used during the Colorado fires last September, quickly became the leading forum for relief with 23,000 unique visits making over 900 posts to help in just 10 days.

Quakehousing.org is available for free and is used by those in need of housing, those that want to give housing, government agencies posting shelters, and other non-profit agencies and corporations who wish to help or donate.

Google Launches New Nonprofit Program

Google is announcing a new program for U.S. nonprofit organizations that will give them access to exclusive nonprofit products (such as up to $10,000 a month in advertising on Google AdWords to reach more donors, free or discounted Google Apps to cut IT costs and operate more efficiently, and premium features for YouTube and Google’s mapping technologies to raise awareness of their cause.)

They’ve also developed other online resources such as educational videos, case studies and better ways to connect with each other in order to better support nonprofits. Finally, they are launching the Google for Nonprofits Marketplace where existing Certified Google Partners will offer their services at a free or discounted rate to approved nonprofits in our program in order to help them optimize the use of our products.

Apply today here!

SXSW and Mobile Phones – Save your cell phone!

The Project:
SXSW is a massive event taking place in Austin, TX next week. The Interactive portion of the event will bring together tech, media and futurists together from around the world to discuss innovative around a variety of subjects. This year, health is going to be a focus (yay!). What better place to engage folks around donating their old mobile phones to a great cause. For those attending SXSW or attending in spirit – I want them to know about this fantastic project.

Where You Come In:
If you have an old mobile phone (or more!), please think about donating to the Hope Phones project. If you are attending SXSW, please bring your old mobile phones – there will be collection boxes at a few places near the Convention Center. I’ve created a nifty Google Form for you to enter information so that they can stay in touch. Most importantly, you will get an update on where in the world your donation has made an impact for community health. If  you sign up prior to or even during SXSW, we’ll make sure and send out a note on where you can drop off your phones. The team and I will also be popping up at various parties/events focused on health & social innovation (e.g. Good Capitalist Party, etc.).

Form Link: http://bit.ly/hopephonesSXSW

Spread the Word:
Please spread the word however you can within your networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The project is also on Twitter as @hopephones. Stay tuned for a new website design and more from them!

Where is the food? New Interactive Map from CAFB

How far must you travel in times of emergency to a food pantry or soup kitchen? Do enough services exist for the most vulnerable among our older adults and children?

How far is the nearest Health and Human Services Commission office? Where is the closest Women, Infants and Children clinic or farmers market? Can you access a community garden in your neighborhood?

Capital Area Food Bank of Texas hopes their new interactive map will help you answer these questions and get you thinking about the unique hunger challenges in our community.

The Hunger Relief Map uses 2000 Census data down to the census tract level to display concentrations of poverty in the Food Bank’s 21 county service territory. It also includes points of access to get relief from hunger and food insecurity.

You can even click on the color key to only display the poverty level concentration you’re interested in.

This map will be updated with 2010 Census data as soon as it is available.