In just 12 hours (6 p.m. on Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday, EST), 60 coders created 12 products that were ready to ship. The event, hosted at Facebook Canada's Toronto headquarters, was organized by Free the Children, a Canadian charity that empowers youths across North America to create positive change.
The rules of the hack-a-thon were pretty simple: Come up with some product that will help Free the Children get kids engaged in positive actions. In response, Hack for a Cause turned out Facebook apps to help log and share volunteerism, a mobile app that accepts and displays donation pledges, an interactive map that allows users to see local philanthropic meet ups, educational mobile games and more.
Even though Hack for a Cause is relatively single-minded, as far as hack-a-thons go, providing Free the Children with new technology will hopefully have widespread impact as well. Besides, it's not such a bad idea to host a group of uber-talented coders and get some awesome new products in return. It's a smart move by Free the Children that may help some kids get more involved in social change.