Charlotte, N.C.-Based Social Network Leading Nationwide Revolution in Community Service
Charlotte, North Carolina (PRWEB) October 15, 2015 -- The advent of social media has made it easier than ever to connect with friends and strangers not only around the United States but across the globe.
Yet, the more people become enmeshed in these digital ties, the more they become detached from the communities where they live and the needs that surround them.
A newly launched social media network aims to bridge this divide by reconnecting people at the community level to solve the needs that exist within that community.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Help Your Neighbor is the first-ever hyper-local social network focused on connecting people that are in need directly with people that can help.
The inspiration behind Help Your Neighbor is rooted in the personal experiences of its founder, Scot Campbell.
Campbell is an avid volunteer who devotes numerous hours each week to providing transportation for those in the Charlotte community who are less fortunate or disabled and whose needs cannot be met by the local public transportation system. As a result, he has become keenly aware of the number of individuals who fall through the cracks between government assistance and charity outreach programs.
He explains: “Traditionally, time and money are donated to organizations, and they decide how best to apply those resources. That can work well on a large scale, but what if someone needs a ride to the doctor or help setting up a new computer? Where do they turn for help?”
The root cause of the problem, he decided, is not a lack of compassion or resources to serve these “hidden needs”; it’s a lack of awareness stemming from Americans’ increasingly insular lifestyle.
Thus Help Your Neighbor was born out of Campbell’s desire to motivate and empower others like himself who have the desire to help but might not know how best to apply their time and talents.
“We believe there is tremendous potential for one person to reach out and help another person directly. Unleashing that potential is why we built Help Your Neighbor,” says Campbell.
Spanning nearly 30,000 cities and towns across all 50 states, Help Your Neighbor is a catalyst for bringing together those in need and those who can help. Individuals who need assistance post their needs on the site, and volunteers can search based on their own skills, resources and talents to find opportunities to help.
“For instance, let’s say you need a wheelchair ramp built at your home. You can post a request for help to your city or your neighborhood, and someone who is skilled in carpentry can find your need and extend an offer to assist you,” Campbell explains.
The site encompasses a wide array of needs – from cooking, cleaning, landscaping and home maintenance to tutoring, transportation and beyond – and can facilitate the formation of helping relationships on a one-time or ongoing basis.
What truly sets Help Your Neighbor apart from other social networks is its focus on building and serving local communities, providing a vehicle for members to connect with the places and people that are familiar to them – their city, their neighborhood and their friends.
At the heart of the ecosystem are neighborhoods. Founded and managed by members, neighborhoods can be defined as a city block, an apartment complex, a subdivision or a borough. The Neighborhood Page serves as a virtual community center where members can connect and have conversations, share photos and videos and organize events in their own community calendar. Most importantly, it gives members a lens to see who needs help nearby and a way to reach out to them.
Similarly, groups offer a way for individuals to connect with people in their local area
who share their interests and their challenges, whether it’s a love of animals, surviving cancer or an affinity for classic cars. Just like neighborhoods, members of groups help one another, share experiences and build a greater community around them.
To build Help Your Neighbor, Campbell partnered with Charlotte-based software development firm Fame Foundry.
“The concept is revolutionary,” says Ken Vuncannon, president and CEO of Fame Foundry. “For all the Web has done to change our lives, there isn’t a place that says to people looking for help, ‘What do you need?’ and then to people who can help, ‘What are you good at?’, bringing those two elements together to make new connections, solve problems and create stronger communities.”
For more information, visit http://www.HelpYourNeighbor.com/press.
About Help Your Neighbor
Help Your Neighbor is the first-ever nationwide hyper-local social network focused on making direct connections between people who are in need and individuals within their own local community who have the available resources to assist them.
Carey Arvin, Fame Foundry, http://www.famefoundry.com, +1 888-228-4020 Ext: 717, [email protected]
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