Hack for LA

Here are the prizes we awarded at our December 2013 Hackathon:  Please view the winners' gallery and all of the 28 team submissions on our Challengepost site here http://hackforladec2013.challengepost.com/

Best Hack for LA Apps:  These prizes, supported by i.am.angel, Google and Socrata, go to the apps making the best use of local Los Angeles data.  The winners of these prizes are judged to be the best apps developed during the event.  All prizes to be shared by the winning teams.  Prizes: 

First prize: $3000: Pocket Watch.  Pocket Watch uses financial data sets, Google's civic api, and the sunlight foundation apis to bring greater transparency to local government expenditures.  Inputting an address returns local leaders, which in turn can be clicked on to reveal their donor history. In some cases, clicking on a given campaign contribution will reveal a corresponding city expenditure to that company.

Second Prize $1500 PromiseTracker Provides an easy-to-understand platform that allows citizens to track how politicians are performing on their campaign promises. App is focused on job numbers and unemployment rates, which are the most common types of campaign promise.

Third prize $750 Stop Domestic Violence In LA (stopdomesticviolenceinla.com) helps women's abuse shelters, victims of abuse and supporters work together better.

Fourth Prize $500. MapMySnaps is a site that shows Boyle Heights residents local restaurants and grocery stores that accept SNAP and WIC, reducing time wasted looking for stores that accept it, and embarrassment for kids in having to ask in stores.

tapdn prize for best social enterprise app:  $3000 for the best app with a social value/ community mission that is also designed to be a business or social venture.  Special Kids LA: This web-based mobile app is: A Safe Place for Parents to Share Information and Opinions About the Schools & Programs Their Special Needs Children Attend. The goal is to facilitate conversation between parents of special needs students within specific school districts. When the parents can share information about what works - and what doesn't work - in their schools, other parents and their children can benefit from that experience.

Demand Media health and fitness prize:  $2500 prize for the best health and fitness app. Are You In is a bilingual English/Spanish app promoting community wellness by matching users for impromptu athletic activities at their local public parks.

Cornerstone OnDemand Volunteer Management App: $2500 prize will go the best app designed to manage volunteerism within a business.  VolunteerMatch is a location-based mobile application that matches Non-Profits with Volunteers based on their skills and interests.

Sprint Latino App Prize: $2500 for the best app designed for the Latino/ Spanish-speaking community in LA. Vee-911 is an app for cell phone and tablet users to be able to access the closest 911 dispatch center. • Identification of the correct 911 dispatch center – Currently, less than 1 out of 5 cell phone calls to 911 have the caller’s location and phone number transmitted with the call.

Best Civic Information API App: This $1000 prize, supported by Google, goes to the app making best use of the Google Civic Information API .  The Honest Politician: In an effort to create a transparency and understanding, I combined the Google Civic Information API with the Sunlight Foundation Congress API.

General Assembly Prize for the Team with the Most Potential:  General Assembly will provide class credit to each member of one team judged to have the most room to grow and improve. Dream Together will give students the opportunity to connect with a diverse number of professionals to explore career fields as well as provide career guidance for various professions. Mentors and students connect and share information at the same time build professional networks for potential volunteer or internship opportunities.

Please note that the judges chose not to award the LA River prize, because no submitted apps fulfilled the criteria for the prize, instead directing that prize allocation to a 4th place overall prize.