Community service is continuing to change and evolve because of technology. Twenty years ago, people thought about community service as "hands on" work. Some examples of this are serving food at a soup kitchen or cleaning up trash in a park. However, technology is changing the way people volunteer and donate their time. One example of this is a program called GiveCamp. GiveCamp is an event in Seattle that brings experts together to build software for nonprofit organizations. These professionals make custom software for 37 different charities. The projects include making mobile applications and websites. Another example for technology being used for community service is at St. John's Bread and Life in Brooklyn, New York. This organization has developed a digital food pantry. When someone visits the food pantry, they swipe their identification card and begin shopping on a touch screen monitor. The computer recognizes the user based on the card they swipe and knows what their dietary need is. For example, if they struggle with obesity, the computer will recommend low-calorie foods. Each user receives 400 points every month they can spend on food. Healthy items cost few points and unhealthy items cost more points. This encourages each person to select healthy food options. Another example I found using technology in community service work is the Connect a Million Minds campaign. This campaign focuses on building the desire in children to become proficient in science, technology, engineering and math. The acronym the organization uses for this is STEM. Community members can join this campaign to help inspire young people to build their STEM skills. There is a website that connects parents to learning opportunities for their children in their community. These opportunities are low-cost activities that will inspire children to become educated in STEM skills. This will help them compete in a global economy.
Technology is playing a larger part in all aspects of our lives. One examples of this happens during natural disasters. In 2010 there was a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. This earthquake affected millions of people. Mobile technology was able to play a large role in the relief efforts during this tragedy. The first network to come back on after the disaster was the mobile phone network. Over 80,000 messages were geo-tagged and logged on a crisis map. Next, rescue teams responded to search requests. This allowed them to save lives and deliver help where it was needed most. Fifteen years ago this technology was not available, especially in poor countries such as Haiti. Without the use of cell phone text messaging, areas that had survivors would not have been found as quickly. This would have lead to more deaths and fewer survivors. Another major event technology has impacted is the election. Politicians now have YouTube channels, Facebook pages, blogs, banner ads, and websites. Politicians are using technology to help them raise money and inform voters. Technology is also exponentially expanding information coming into voter's minds. Fifteen years ago, people got information about politicians from the news, newspapers, TV advertisements, and people they knew. Now, everyone can share their opinions and allegations with anyone in the world who will take the time to read them. Technology has allowed information to explode. This is especially true as we face another election year. Fifteen years ago, volunteers would cold call people's home phones to encourage them to vote. Now, most people do not even have home phones. Instead, political volunteers now blog, tweet, and post YouTube videos to encourage people to vote for their candidate of choice. The example of the election is also an example of a social media campaign. Politicians are using technology in new ways to create a buzz and gain followers. Followers have the opportunity to interact with each other about various topics. They can respond to posts or share them. This is different than a traditional advertising campaign with a centralized messaged relayed over mediums such as radio, newspapers, or mail.
Technology plays a role in almost all aspects of our life. Technology has caused our society to change the way most things occur. For example, social media allows us to stay connected to people, ideas, and companies. It allows us to watch the world at a distance. For example, if your friend got a promotion at work, she wouldn't have to call you personally to tell you. She would probably update her status to share that information with everyone she knows, including you. Another example of using social networking is when letting people know about the service you received at a retailer. Before social networking, if you had a bad experience at a restraint you would probably tell your close friends and family. Social networking allows you to tell everyone you know. You can also post about the experience on the company's website so other potential customers can read about it.
Technology is empowering many different groups of people. It is empowering students to have more resources when learning or doing homework. They can access teachers and experts virtually through the Internet. Technology allows people to apply for jobs even if they don't have a car to drive there. Technology allows people to join groups or causes they are passionate about and stay up to date on events and other happenings. Technology changes they way we live and also empowers us to improve our world. One example of this was mentioned earlier when talking about how technology improved rescue efforts after the earthquake in Haiti.
Works Cited
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Le, Judy. "Local Food Pantry Goes Digital – Bed-Stuy, NY Patch." Bed-Stuy Patch. Bed-Stuy Patch, 2 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://bed-stuy.patch.com/articles/local-food-pantry-goes-digital>.
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