Inspiration
The recent hurricanes in Florida a nd the Southern USA showed how local supply chains can become overwhelmed during emergencies, leaving people without critical resources. As college students living in dorms, we recognized the value of community support and resource sharing. This inspired us to create a platform where neighbors in multi-family buildings, like apartments, can share resources, connect, and coordinate before emergencies hit. Our goal is to build stronger community bonds and reduce local supply shortages through proactive sharing.
What It Does
CommUNITY Prep is an emergency preparedness web app that connects residents of apartment buildings and similar multi-family homes. It allows users to share and log resources such as food, tools, and medical supplies. In case of an emergency, residents can easily access and share the community's resources, improving preparedness and reducing last-minute supply shortages.
How We Built It
We built CommUNITY Prep using Java, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Firebase for database management and authentication. Firebase helps with user account creation and, in v1, stores user location data to build community resource logs.
Challenges We Ran Into
As beginner programmers, we faced challenges setting up the backend, particularly with databases. Implementing a shared resource system that worked across users in the same building required more backend experience than we initially had. Time constraints also forced us to simplify the app’s features and focus on the core functionality of resource sharing.
Accomplishments That We're Proud Of
We’re proud of building our first functioning app with Firebase integration for authentication and user data using JavaScript. Gaining hands-on experience with APIs, backend development, and deploying a real-world solution within a short timeframe was a huge win for us. The app successfully demonstrates our concept of emergency resource sharing.
What We Learned
We learned a great deal about working with backend technologies like Firebase, as well as improving our skills in web development, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We also learned how important it is to prioritize features and manage scope in hackathons to ensure timely delivery.
What's next for CommUNITY Prep
Next, we plan to refine the backend to better support resource sharing across multi-family buildings. This includes more robust database management and improving the app’s scalability. We also want to explore new features such as push notifications for urgent resource needs and potentially expand the platform to more types of communities.
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