Using My Powers for Good

When people ask me what I do, more often than not, I tell them that I am lucky because I get paid to do what I love, and it’s something I’d do even if I didn’t have a job. I like to build things with computers. I usually do this in the form of web sites or computer programs.

The Idea

Last summer when I was living in Cedar Rapids, IA, there was an event on September 2nd called NewBoFest that sounded really great. I decided to help out and volunteer some of my time with planning, setup and teardown of NewBoCo, the conference of ideas and stories, shared by the community for the community. At the end of NewBoCo, there was a final session where anybody could spend 1 minute on stage talking about anything that they wanted that was related to the local community (or really anything community related in general). I pitched an idea that I had been thinking about for a couple months. The idea was one of gathering together developers and designers to help out local charities and non-profits with their tech needs. Building software and web sites because most can’t afford to pay much for these things. After telling this idea to an auditorium full of people I decided to make it a reality. I began researching and lo and behold, this exact idea is called a GiveCamp!

Central Texas Give Camp

Since NewBoCo, some things have changed for me, I took a new gig at Headspring in Austin! After only about 2 or 3 weeks into my job, I was informed that we would be hosting a GiveCamp at our new office, yet another sign that made me feel good about my job switch and the 1,000 mile move. 🙂

If you’re like me and want to help out your community, be sure to visit http://ctxgivecamp.org and add your name to our email list (we won’t do anything weird like sell your email address, promise!). Whether you’re a developer, designer or anything related, sign up if you’re interested! We will be sending out messages to keep you up to date about what’s happening regarding Central Texas GiveCamp. The first step is getting your name in the list, next we’ll contact you and ask you how you’d like to help out. If you’re interested in sponsoring the GiveCamp, please email Mary Chauvin or if you know a charity that could use some help, we’d love to get them involved, email Eric Sollenberger!

Central Texas GiveCamp Details for 2012

• What: A weekend of coding, designing, building and developing for charity!
• Where: Headspring, 10415 Morado Cir Building #3, Austin, TX 78759
• When: Sept 14th – 16th, 2012 – from Fri night until late afternoon Sunday
• Why: Because we’d love your skills for the good of the community!
• Who: You and your friends/coworkers, hopefully!

Don’t hesitate to send me a message or leave a comment with any questions. I hope to see you there!