Group partners with app to help meet needs of homeless and at-risk youth
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Only Hope Wnc, Inc. has partnered with an app that helps make users aware of the needs of at-risk and homeless youth and families that they can meet in their own communities.
Purposity is an app that connects users with one-to-one needs in their community. Its name comes from purpose + generosity, and it is designed to connect the individual needs of people near you with neighbors, like you.
“If you knew a kid down the street had a simple need – say she needed sneakers for school – chances are you’d help, right?” stated a press release from Only Hope. “It’s hard to know the needs of real people in your community because there’s never been a way to connect people who could really use help with people who want to offer it.”
The app sends a weekly notification to users with a need in their area. With just a few clicks from their phone, people can satisfy needs ranging from shoes and jackets for a local student to small household items for a family that lost their home in a fire. The app also features user profiles that track donors’ giving, allowing them to see their impact.
“That can be anything from a student who needs a bed, backpack, laptop; a homeless student who maybe needs some items in school or out of school,” said Michael Absher, president and CEO of Only Hope. “Once we are able to meet those needs, the notifications go out, and the community has the ability to click from their phones to meet that need.”
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“We live in an age when we can make a doctor’s appointment right from our phones,” said Purposity app founder Blake Canterbury, “but we have no way of knowing if the family down the street has food on its table or if their children have shoes on their feet. Our belief is that if you knew your neighbor needed help, you’d help.”
The Purposity app was built with with the intention of bridging that gap locally, wherever it’s used. It allows neighbors who want to help but aren’t sure how, to connect with those in their local community who have specific needs.
Those who sign up receive an alert with a link to a story of an individual in need and can then choose to meet that need right on their phone. The requested item is in the hands of the organization in just a few days. It takes one notification, under a minute, and a few clicks to make a difference for a fellow community member.
To join the movement to support Only Hope WNC, the Purposity app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
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