Givera | Devpost

Givera Prototype
Givera Wireframe

Inspiration:

The customer demand for faster, cheaper and varying products and the need to follow trends is not only present in fast fashion, but also fast furniture, especially as people spent more time in their home due to the pandemic. The lifespan for these trends have continually gotten shorter, and the amount of waste being thrown in landfills has been growing as well, and not enough of it is being recycled or repurposed. Our team found that searching for facilities that can make use of these items by going through each organization’s page, and trying to figure out which ones are nearby, isn’t a convenient option either. We wanted to create an app that keeps these usable items out of landfills and relocates them to second-hand stores and shelters to be rehomed.

What it does:

Givera connects users to nearby non-profit organizations and causes important to them so that others can repurpose their old belongings. Users can not only help the environment, but can support their local community while doing so! With our mission of encouraging reusability and supporting those in need, we hope our app provides a convenient way for users to donate items to charities that support various causes, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, mental health services, the environment, senior citizens, homeless individuals, newcomers, etc.

How we built it:

We built our prototype using Figma, a collaborative interface design tool, taking into account UX and UI principles and carefully choosing the colour scheme and designs to meet the needs of our app theme.

Challenges we ran into:

The main challenge we faced was figuring out how we could best use our time to meet the needs of all aspects of our project, especially because of timezone differences. In the end, we were able to prioritize between the different functions and features we wanted in our app, and organized the tasks in a way that minimized the wait time for other members.

Accomplishments we’re proud of:

Despite the time differences and the challenge of figuring out how we were going to approach building the prototype, we were able to work together and make the most out of each of our skills in a way where everyone got to do something they enjoyed, and we were able to finish the project on time.

What we learned:

The project ended up looking different from what we initially imagined because of challenges we faced with accessing tools and resources, but our team learned how to quickly adapt to unexpected issues and circumstances while keeping the project organized, and managed to keep a good work flow as well.

What’s next for Givera:

Givera is looking to expand into different regions in North America and partner with organizations, like particular fabric stores or second-hand shops. We’re also looking to expand our functions so that users can communicate with each other for items that can be repurposed but may not be accepted in nearby organizations, and to add a section for users to post questions or ideas for repurposing other materials while connecting with a community as well.