Coding for Charity: ICC hosts Columbus GiveCamp 2011

Information Control Corporation hosted the 4th annual GiveCamp event on May 20-22, 2011. At this event, more than 35 volunteers gathered in the ICC Corporate Conference Center to share their skills to advance local charity organization’s technical initiatives. GiveCamp is a weekend-long event where software developers, designers, and database administrators donate their time to create custom software for non-profit organizations. This custom software could be a new website for the nonprofit organization, a small data-collection application to keep track of members, or a application for the Red Cross that automatically emails a blood donor three months after they’ve donated blood to remind them that they are now eligible to donate again. The only limitation is that the project should be scoped to be able to be completed in a weekend. Since its inception in 2007, the GiveCamp program has provided benefits to over 150 charities, with a value of developer and designer time exceeding $1,000,000 in services. Columbus GiveCamp 2011 was organized to help 5 organizations, including: •Ohio Wildlife Center’s (OWC). Founded in 1984, Ohio Wildlife Center’s (OWC) mission is to foster an awareness and appreciation of Ohio’s native wildlife through conservation education, wildlife rehabilitation and wildlife health studies. http://ohiowildlifecenter.org/ •Gallery 202: Partners in Art. A six year old community arts organization that brings artists, patrons and businesses together. http://www.gallery202online.com/ •Pets without Parents. Pets Without Parents is a no-kill, nonprofit shelter for dogs and cats located in the Clintonville area of Columbus, Ohio. http://www.petswithoutparents.net/ At GiveCamp, there is an expectation of “What Happens at GiveCamp, Stays at GiveCamp”. Therefore, all source code is turned over to the charities at the end of the weekend (developers cannot ask for payment) and the charities are responsible for maintaining the code moving forward (charities cannot expect the developers to maintain the codebase). GiveCamp Developers are welcome to go home in the evenings or camp out all weekend long. With food and drink provided at the event, it is a great opportunity for people to work together, developing new friendships, and doing something important for their community. To track the next Columbus GiveCamp event and to volunteer, visit: www.columbusgivecamp.org.