Cork charities to get a boost from online experts

A GROUP of Cork businesses and individuals are coming together this month for a very special effort to help local charities and social enterprises. 

Co-hosted by the Cork Foundation and Republic of Work, the event, called Hack4Good, will see the city’s top web development agencies, related companies and volunteers join for 24 hours to give something back to the community.

On Friday May 12th, from 10am, the teams will challenge themselves to build (or completely rebuild) the online presences of five deserving Cork social enterprises and  charities. 

This could include websites, social media presences, some branding/identity tweaks, maybe mechanisms for them to take online donations, maybe even t-shirt shops – whatever will most benefit the charities. 

Each team will be headed up by a development/design agency, supplemented by volunteers such as photographers, PR & marketing folk and freelancers.

Teams will work around the clock until 10am on Saturday morning from the newly opened Republic of Work Innovation Hub at 12 South Mall. 

Across the day parts of the event will be live-streamed on Facebook, along with regular updates and videos posted online. 

As a secondary effort, a number of fundraising activities will be hosted through a donation campaign that will collect money which will then be split evenly between the five selected.

Speaking about the event, Padraic Vallely of the Cork Foundation, highlighted the importance of a strong online presence for charities and social enterprises. 

‘Many Cork social enterprises and charities rely heavily on volunteers and it’s critical that they have a platform to share their stories ,’ he said.