This Weekend: Hack For Good at Random Hacks of Kindness Ottawa

Random Hack of Kindness Ottawa
Want to hack for good? Random Hacks of Kindness might be just for you. Join volunteers, designers, developers, NGOs workers and data nerds to work on solutions for local organizations: hack their problems and contribute your knowledge right back into our community!

What is RHOK?

In similar fashion to Startup Weekend, RHOK is a global movement. However instead of being focused on entrepreneurship, RHOK is focused on Hacking for Humanity. (Love that) Specifically, in their own words:
RHoK is unique in the space of “apps competitions”, “hackathons” and “technology for social good”. RHoK’s model is to start from identifying, defining and refining problem definitions provided by subject matter experts and local stakeholders. This ensures that volunteer time is focused on solving real problems for real people. RHoK is more than simply a weekend event. It is a process that begins with problem definition, continues through rapid prototyping of a solution at a hackathon event, and culminates in working with the experts and technologists alike to create a sustainability plan for promising applications to ensure they make it out into the real world.
I had the chance to exchange a couple of emails with one of the organizers of the RHOK Ottawa event, and here's what I learned:

  • Normally these types of events happen simultaneously across the globe in early June and December, but this month that was the same weekend as Startup Weekend, so RHOK changed their dates to this weekend.
  • They are looking for a pretty even mix of developers, designers, data folks, NGO workers and people who volunteer at the organizations we're hoping to help. Although they would like as many developers as possible.
  • There is no theme and there are no pitches! The projects have already been picked ahead of time by the organizations partnering with RHOK such as Artengine, who want to build a reservation system for their laser cutter, 3d printers and other tools.


Who is behind bringing RHOK to Ottawa?

As is usually the case with these types of events, a lot of hands are needed to make it happen. The team behind the event consists of a dozen local folks including Brandon Brule, Simeon Seguin, Lisa LaRochelle, Brett Tackaberry, Patrick Karpiak, Christian Garceau and Liz Mcdonald, among others.

Want to join in the fun? 

Here's what you need to know:

  • RHOK will be held at Shopify Lounge
  • The event runs from Friday, 27 June 2014 at 7:00pm to Sunday, 29 June 2014 at 3:00pm
  • There's a detailed schedule posted and if you look along the right side of the page... the projects are listed (You can even help one of my favourite causes: Code For Kids!)
  • If you're interested, you'd better move quickly: as I write this, there are only 16 spaces left: Register here
I'm hoping to pop by this weekend to check out the action. Will I see you there?