{"id":75535,"date":"2021-04-19T16:16:59","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T20:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=75535"},"modified":"2025-10-15T10:16:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:16:59","slug":"icontribute-app-volunteer-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/icontribute-app-volunteer-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton Students Launch Mobile App Fostering Volunteer Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton Students Launch Mobile App Fostering Volunteer Opportunities\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

A group of Carleton students has developed an app that is now available for download in the IOS and Android app stores called iContribute<\/a>, which connects students with volunteer opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"HaoHao
iContribute founder HaoHao Du<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

HaoHao Du, a third-year computer science student at Carleton, came up with the concept after an internship last summer fell through due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI knew I wanted to work on something. One thing I really landed on was fostering the next generation of youth,\u201d says Du.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"Co-founder
iContribute co-founder Umai Balendra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI worked as a tutor at Kumon (math and reading program) throughout high school, and seeing that light flicker on in students\u2019 eyes as they came to a realization was a big passion of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first big break on the project came when he interviewed at a startup accelerator that liked the idea and offered to take him on and provide him with a team of interns. Over the summer, the team of seven developed the idea into an app and launched into the IOS app store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI might have started it off, but it was really the team that carried the ambition forward,\u201d says Du, noting two of his fellow computer science students at Carleton, Umai Balendra and James Ying, became his co-founders.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/figure>\n\n\n

Continuing the Momentum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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After the summer term ended, Du began reaching out to Carleton organizations, hoping to continue the momentum. The team soon began working with Enactus Carleton<\/a> and CUSA Hatch<\/a>, two student-led clubs, which provided them with resources and connections to industry professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group sent hundreds of emails to organizations and schools. Soon 25 organizations were signed up to participate, including the Ottawa Food Bank, the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"iContribute
iContribute team member Sarah Davis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The iContribute team has now grown from seven to 30. Many of them work on the app in addition to holding full-time positions with other companies and organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The founders would like to continue development of the app and see where it goes. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWe want to give back to the community we grew up in,\u201d says Du.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe dream is to hopefully expand into other cities across Canada.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Du credits his Carleton education with helping him begin app development, specifically a course on Human-Computer Interaction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"iContribute
iContribute team member Emily Nguyen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI actually looked at my notes from the course to build the beginnings of the project,\u201d says Du. \u201cThe course taught the importance of connecting with end-users. I literally looked at my exam study notes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The iContribute team is currently looking to connect on-campus clubs with volunteers. If you are a student-led club, please reach out to iContribute on LinkedIn<\/a>, or by email at icontribute.founder@gmail.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen I was in high school, I was so afraid of starting anything new, worried about the judgment of others,\u201d says Du.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cBut if you are passionate about something\u2014go for it! When you are truly passionate about what you do, it doesn\u2019t feel like work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—
\nMore Stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of Carleton students has developed an app that is now available for download in the IOS and Android app stores called iContribute, which connects students with volunteer opportunities. HaoHao Du, a third-year computer science student at Carleton, came up with the concept after an internship last summer fell through due to COVID-19. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":75541,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28,25,1917],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-75535","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships","cu_story_type-student-experience","cu_story_type-the-new-economy"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/75535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/75535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98088,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/75535\/revisions\/98088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=75535"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=75535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}