Upcoming Hackathons:

It’s about time we kick into civic overdrive and get some new projects on the table. Which can only mean one thing—a hackathon or two. The Transportation Hackathon has been postponed until June when there will be even more data to inspire those creative brain parts. But that doesn’t mean we need any less help with organizing the events! There is still plenty to be done for the Transportation hackathon as well as the two other hackathons coming in the months before: Apps for Democracy in late March and Apps for Philly Health in early May. To get involved, contact Chris Alfano at calfano@codeforamerica.org

Projects on the Rise: PA Fair Funding Education Project

With the mayoral election around the corner almost everyone is thinking about the educational system in Philly. In fact, it was voted by progressives as the most important platform issue above economy and crime. By a lot. But did you know that our school funding is actually granted by the state AND that we’re one of only three states that doesn’t use a formula to fairly distribute resources? The PA Fair Funding Education project formed to help inform Philly residents of the current system, but more importantly to actually develop a potential formula for the state to implement. The project highlights the power of open source and code to make a difference in the areas our city cares most about. It is currently in the Bootstrapping phase and still looking for people and resources. If this interests you look for Morgan or Daniel at the next meetup, or you can start a thread offering help on the discussion board.

Looking for Impact Stories:

Philly has an impressive civic tech scene. Just about anyone here would argue that we’re the best in the country—whether it’s true or not because, after all, we’re from Philly. With that passion and pride is a story. How did you get involved with the civic tech community? How did life change after that? Our friends at Open Access Philly want to hear and share your “impact story” to inspire even more great work in the civic tech sphere. Share a brief story with OAP by emailing Yuriy at yuriy.porytko@live.com

“You don’t need to code to be a part of code for philly”:

We’ve been saying it for awhile now—we need more than coders at Code for Philly. That’s not to say we don’t need and love our coders. They are a major part of the foundation of the work happening in our group. But to amplify impact we need to extend our reach even further. You may not have advanced tech skills, you might not even be a coder at all, and you’re more than welcome. We need everything from front-end developers and web designers to writers and storytellers to communications and outreach. If you’re not convinced watch this Technical.ly Philly video. What about now? Great, email Chris or Dawn for more info at calfano@codeforamerica.org and de@dawnmcdougall.com