JBJ SOUL FOUNDATION PARTNERS TO LAUNCH DEVELOPER CHALLENGE
(March 19, 2012 – Red Bank, NJ) – On behalf of the JBJ Soul Foundation, Jon Bon Jovi, who is also a member of the White House Council for Community Solutions, today joined W. Scott Gould, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on a media teleconference to announce a developer challenge called Project REACH (Real-time Electronic Access for Caregivers and the Homeless).
Challenge Calls for Application That Will Provide Real-Time Info & Connect Providers of Homeless Services
Five Finalists To Ultimately Pilot Their Mobile Applications at JBJ Soul Kitchen
The Department of Veterans Affairs is launching the new contest in collaboration with the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the lives of people facing economic challenges. The Soul Foundation operates the JBJ Soul Kitchen - a community restaurant in Monmouth County, N.J., where competing apps will be tested. The challenge asks developers for an easy to use, mobile/web application to connect service providers and offer real-time information about resources for the homeless and others in need. The first five entries to meet the requirements enumerated in detail below and at
www.challenge.gov will receive a $10,000 cash prize and the opportunity to test their app at the JBJ Soul Kitchen. The winner will receive a $25,000 prize.
“At the Soul Kitchen we’ve seen the need for a simple, user-friendly, comprehensive application that connects those in need to resources in their community. As we sought out a solution to resolve the disconnect, we found the VA, HUD and HHS to be of like mind. Together we can provide the information about existing services – now we need the bright minds in the developer community to create a platform to tie it all together” said Jon Bon Jovi, musician, Chairman of the JBJ Soul Foundation and White House Council Member.
“This contest taps the talent and deep compassion of the Nation’s developer community,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We are asking them to make a free, easy-to-use Web and smartphone app that provides current information about housing, health clinics and food banks.”
“Last year’s 12 percent drop in Veterans homelessness shows the results of President Obama’s and the whole administration's commitment to ending Veterans homelessness,” said Secretary of House and Urban Development Shaun Donovan. “I want to thank Jon Bon Jovi for being a part of that effort and for using competition and innovation to advance the cause of ending homelessness.”
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