Kyle
We’ve heard about hundreds of social discovery apps. You’re familiar with the type, punch in your account info for Foursquare, Twitter or Facebook and find people near you. That’s what we are used to when it comes to “social discovery”. Well there’s a relatively new startup out of Chicago that helps users connect with real their real “social” environment.
We’re not talking about finding new people who share the same interests as you. We’re talking about things like food, shelter and medical care.
Here’s how the founders of iFindit describe themselves on their web page:
The application aims to assist social workers, case managers, providers and residents. iFindit was built to serve Chicagoans by providing quick information regarding access to food, shelter and medical care in their area.
More after the break
The app helps users find places that accept WIC cards or SNAP/Link. At the same time it will also help residents find farmer’s markets and other community minded places like food co-ops. It even goes one step further and integrates the hours of the business you are looking for, syncing it with your phones clock to tell you if the establishment is open or closed. This can come in handy when using the app to look for city resources that sometimes have “bankers hours” or take strange lunch hours.
While I’m sure there are some of you cynically thinking that homeless people and people who are on state assistance can’t afford smartphones, or shouldn’t have smartphones, many actually do as it’s the only way for them to keep in contact with family and loved ones. Often times a prepaid smartphone bill is a lot less than the cost of food or housing.
But the app isn’t totally about the homeless or the less fortunate. iFindit can also help volunteer types by finding local food banks, donation drives or other socially aware causes.
The app was built as part of a developer challenge called Apps For Metro Chicago which was a competition for developers to create new applications that will service the city of Chicago in a way that technology hasn’t done previously.
iFindit is available in the Apple iTunes App Store.
source: iFindit
