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Sixth Annual Des Moines Charity Hackathon Announces Nonprofit Participants

2/21/2019

The dsmHack team has announced the local nonprofit organizations that will benefit from 100 developers, designers, and innovators working around the clock as part of the sixth annual 2019 Des Moines Charity Hackathon (dsmHack). Hosted at the Des Moines Social Club, this year’s hackathon will help eleven nonprofits representing a variety of causes, narrowed down from nearly 30 submissions.

Meet the 2019 Nonprofits
● Adaptive Sports Iowa’s goal is to bring fun, excitement and exercise to enhance the quality of life of amazing athletes with physical disabilities in Iowa.
● Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa helps children realize their potential and build their futures through a mentoring network.
● Community Support Advocates provides support services to almost 1,100 individuals. The individuals supported experience a wide range of disabilities, including intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities, brain injury, mental illness and substance abuse.
● Free Clinics of Iowa is the largest network of free medical clinics in the state of Iowa.
● Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes .
● Iowa Homeless Youth Centers works to eliminate homelessness among children, youth and families in Central Iowa.
● Iowa Radio Reading Information Service for the Blind recruits volunteers to read print publications aloud for Iowans who cannot comfortably hold print material or access the words on the page.
● Les Dames D’Escoffier Greater Des Moines is a philanthropic organization of women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality.
● Make-A-Wish Iowa is making wishes come true for children diagnosed with critical illnesses. A wish is granted every other day in the state of Iowa.
● United Upper Nile South Sudanese Community Association in Iowa supports immigrant and refugee communities in the state.
● Walnut Creek Watershed Association was developed to address environmental and flooding concerns seen throughout the watershed and in the creek.

During the 48-hour hackathon, participating organizations partner with volunteers to create technology
solutions for their nonprofits. Doors remain open for registered participants to work non-stop on projects
critical for the nonprofits to become more effective in day-to-day operations.

“When I heard that Walnut Creek Watershed Coalition was chosen to get help from dsmHack to build the
water quality tool we envisioned, it was a great feeling,” said Adam Hammes of EcoFluence. “When I
found out on the group call that we would actually be getting 8-10 professional hackers helping us for 2 ½
days, I couldn’t believe it. I knew we definitely had the time and resources to build something truly
valuable.”

In addition to this tool for the Walnut Creek Watershed Coalition, projects include the development of
websites, databases and mapping tools and will save organizations thousands of dollars. Through the
hackathon, these organizations gain invaluable tools that will enable them to make an exponential impact
throughout the state of Iowa. Over the past five years, 50 nonprofits have been impacted by more than
400 volunteers donating over $829,000 of in-kind services.

CNA - Stop HIV Iowa

The hack event began Thursday evening with a brief explanation from each nonprofit outlining their
technology need. Participants then met with nonprofits, chose a project, and began the 48 hours of
collaboration. Final presentations, including demos of the work created and statements from the
nonprofits, will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23.

This year’s hackathon is generously supported by:
● Terabyte Sponsors: Principal, American Enterprise and Athene
● Gigabyte Sponsors: Workiva and Lean TECHniques
● Megabyte Sponsors: Berkley Technology Services
● Business Solver, Mumo Systems, Nationwide and Toftech Consulting
● Kilobyte Sponsors: Grand Consulting, Iowa Computer Gurus, Lender Close, Source Allies, and Space Simply

For more information, visit dsmhack.org or email the committee at info@dsmHack.org. Observers
can follow along with the hack this weekend on dsmHack’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels for a look behind the scenes.

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