Kindness Network

The Kindness Network seeks to eliminate barriers to entry faced by new volunteers in the community, while facilitating the provision of volunteer services to those in need.

Comment

Chosen theme and problem statement

The theme chosen by Begin was Giving Back, and we chose to tackle Problem Statement 1. Our hack functions as a two-sided platform, eliminating barriers to entry faced by new volunteers who are trying to act as a force of good in their communities, while facilitating the provision of volunteer services to those in need.

What it does

Beneficiaries of social services can make use of our hack to request assistance from volunteers in certain common, pre-defined tasks. The request is broadcast to our regional volunteer network, composed of everyday citizens looking to make a difference; those best suited to respond may then accept the request, and proceed to render any assistance necessary.

How our hack answers the problem statement

According to a 2019 article by the Singapore National Volunteer and Philanthropy Center, Singaporeans shy away from volunteering as they age, citing lack of time. They are often put off by lengthy minimum term requirements imposed by volunteering organisations, or find difficulty in matching schedules with volunteer teams. Our hack is demonstrably able to make volunteering easier and more widespread, by reducing the commitment required by volunteers in starting their giving journeys. Requests for help can be filled on an ad-hoc basis, allowing the volunteer to give back to the community as and when they are able, while keeping to their current schedule and commitments.

The volunteering services that our hack coordinates directly correspond to some of the most pertinent issues faced by the less fortunate in Singapore today. Namely, we seek to:

  1. Support mental well-being (more than 1 in 2 Singaporeans aged 60 and older reported being lonely in 2015),
  2. Provide housekeeping services (Habitat for Humanity highlights the dangers to health caused by prolonged exposure to dirty living conditions, as the physically infirm are unable to do their own cleaning)
  3. Help those with mobility constraints to get around (13.3% of Singaporeans aged above 50 had some form of physical disability in 2017), and
  4. Provide digital literacy help to seniors (only 58% of Singaporeans aged 60 and older were internet users compared to 89% for the general population).

How we built it

We used Flutter to build out both the frontend and backend components, as we wanted our hack to be accessible on mobile devices for ease-of-use. We chose to use Firebase for our backend database due to its easy integration with Flutter, with intuitive APIs to communicate with the database.

Difficulties we overcame

A daunting hurdle we had to overcome at the start of our project’s inception was: how could we make volunteering even more widespread than it currently is? In our information age, those with the desire to help face virtually no barriers in finding and linking up with a worthy cause. It seemed that the only way to increase volunteerism rates was to convince more citizens to take up the mantle; a near-impossible task without wider outreach.

It came as a revelation to us when, upon reflection, we realised that there was no shortage of willing volunteers in our immediate circles. What was truly lacking was the flexibility to take up volunteering activities in between work, school, and family commitments. With a newfound perspective, we were able to devise an effective solution which was ultimately incorporated into our hack.

Biggest learning points from Lifehack 2022

Lifehack 2022 was an exciting rush, where our team worked tirelessly to bring our hastily-concocted idea to life, and then expand upon it even further. It was a joy to see our creation manifest, even with its little imperfections, and know that it was a product of our labour.

Perhaps more significant, however, were the lasting impressions we received while reading and learning more about the plight of our hack’s target audience. The less fortunate in our society face a myriad of challenges day-after-day, and their struggles go largely unseen to the layperson. We hope that through concepts such as our hack, more citizens will be encouraged to reach out and help those who truly require our assistance, such that no one in Singapore has to suffer in silence.

Built With

Share this project:

Updates