CarPoll

Inspiration

The Surgeon General has officially recognized an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, particularly affecting older generations. According to the CDC, “more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated.” Social isolation and loneliness increase risk of:

50% increased risk of dementia “Premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity” “Loneliness was associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide”

What it does

How do we increase socializing and voting amongst senior citizens? Welcome to “CarPoll” - an online platform with a mission to bring joy, connectivity and civic engagement to our beloved seniors. This website is dedicated to carpooling seniors to local poll sites. Participating in the democratic process gives seniors a purposeful reason to meet up, reinforcing the idea that their involvement is crucial for the health and vitality of the community. Meeting up for a shared purpose like voting makes social interaction more natural, reducing any potential stigma associated with seeking companionship. As an added bonus, carpooling minimizes individual travel emissions, promoting an eco-friendly approach to voting. "CarPoll" recognizes the profound importance of providing seniors with a purpose that not only ignites their sense of community but also aligns with their desire for productivity and societal contribution. By simplifying the voting process and promoting carpooling, "CarPoll" aims to boost the participation of the seniors in elections. Additionally, the platform serves as a hub for accurate and up-to-date information on elections, polling locations, and relevant voting details. Additionally, given the susceptibility of older individuals to disinformation, our site serves as a reliable source, offering accurate and trustworthy information to ensure informed decision-making during elections. Carpooling initiatives contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions, aligning with the broader goal of environmental sustainability.

How we built it

We worked originally in Java to build up the backend of the website, including making use of the Google maps API as well as the Google Civic information API in order to pull information about candidates and polling locations for each of the users of our app. Once that was done, all of that was converted into JavaScript and CSS to build the website and made most of it work.

Challenges we ran into

We ran into a lot of timing issues just because of our schedules as well as this being our first hackathon (three members did not know any languages other than Java so most of our work started from that). So, we had to work around that by learning some JavaScript as well as consulting mentors to make our project work.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of the app that was made in such a small amount of time. Kimi's main idea for the project has expanded into a scalable app that can deployed nationwide. We are also proud of Shuxin for carrying the front end.

What we learned

We learned a lot about time management! We had to work through a lot of timing issues as we've never deployed an app before this hackathon, as well as learned how to use different languages and APIs to make a working project!

What's next for CarPoll

We hope to expand CarPoll with other purposes such as doctors appointments and recreational activities. We also hope to make a version of CarPoll for younger voters so they can experience healthy political discourse and accessible means to voting, especially in rural areas that require a car.