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Ask HN: How can I hack for community service?

by scottmwinters on 6/10/15, 1:25 PM with 9 comments

My work offers paid "Service Learning" time every year (40 hours). As a programmer, I'd really like to contribute in ways other than picking up trash and planting trees in a park.

What are some ways that programmers can give back to the community?

I'm not sure "open source projects" are really what count here, so unless you have a specific project or good justification...

If the best answer is "tutor high school", how do you go about getting involved with that?

  • by lmm on 6/10/15, 1:29 PM

    Programming is a tool. Find a community organization you care about - whether that be picking up trash or what have you. Follow their processes, understand them. And then look for ways where you can automate things to make them more efficient.

  • by panglott on 6/10/15, 3:32 PM

    In Louisville I hear a lot about the Civic Data Alliance working with local government and local nonprofits, on things like accessibility for people who are blind, &c. They're part of Code for America. http://www.civicdataalliance.org/ http://www.codeforamerica.org/

  • by LarryMade2 on 6/11/15, 2:41 PM

    Being in the non-profit sector, I have some thoughts on this.

    Would you have someone to drop by and build you a bridge to satisfy their community service?

    If you do something like programming for some agency, take into account the long term cost of what you do. Putting up a site with a framework is quick, but will there be someone able to support updating the code in the months and years to follow?

    For programming I'd go with open source contributions. (also you can put links to your work and add to your resume)

    Tutoring is good, doesn’t have to be in high school, there are local community centers that are looking for people to put on workshops and such.

  • by tixocloud on 6/10/15, 3:25 PM

    As folks have already mentioned, have a chat with these organizations and really understand what they are struggling with in their day to day tasks. Technology is just a solution - but possibly they need help in creating awareness and a website/social media presence could be a small part of the solution.

    As a former consultant, we advised non-profits on their organizational structure, helped them eliminate inefficiency and built a business case to raise funds for their initiatives as part of our volunteer work.

  • by jeffmould on 6/10/15, 1:29 PM

    Not sure where you are located, but I know that the Washington Post lists volunteer opportunities in the job ads online. Most of the time there are developer opportunities on there for non-profits looking for help with websites or other projects. I know a few people that have used those opportunities to give back and also build/refresh their personal portfolios. If you aren't in the DC area, you may try other newspapers of similar size. I am only familiar with the Post though.

  • by brudgers on 6/10/15, 4:29 PM

  • by skidoo on 6/10/15, 1:45 PM

    Seek out non-profits in your area and volunteer to help build web-presences for them- websites, social networking, etc. Just assisting with spreading the word can do wonders sometimes.

    Or go further and offer a contest, of so many hours of your time to whomever raises the most fundage for whatever local community organization.

  • by rfergie on 6/10/15, 4:15 PM

    I do some data work with a small UK charity. Right now we need some help with deciding how best to proceed with our IT stuff.

    So probably not programming right now, but definitely the sort of thing a programmer could help with.

    Hit me up at my email (in profile) if this interests you