Cupertino Winners Of Teen App-Design Challenge Announced

CUPERTINO, CA – The Cupertino Library recently announced the winners of its Teen App-Design Challenge, a contest that sought to inspire young people to come up with digital solutions to some of the most pressing societal issues.

Organized by the Teen Services Librarian Matt Lorenzo and the Cupertino Library’s Teen Advisory Board, the competition spanned two months as 70 local teenagers learned to code a working application and connect it to various electronic databases available throughout the Santa Clara County Library District.

The teens worked in teams to create their apps and produced three-minute commercials to promote them. Participants also took part in a workshop about social-justice activism and how to safely and effectively respond to a hate crime.

“Seeing all of the hard work, creativity, and compassion these teens put into the App Challenge reminds
me of a timeless quote by Dr. Seuss,” Lorenzo said, adding the "Lorax" quote “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”

The top finishers are as follows:

1) The Hapi App, which seeks to help those dealing with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts through an innovative online diary format that doubles as a virtual social worker with recommendations for how to improve social interactions;

2) The Teresa App, which makes it easy for restaurants and caterers who have surplus food they wish to donate to connect with local food banks and pantries, thereby helping the hungry;

3) The Salutem App, which connects everyday people with a room to lend out to refugees across the globe who are fleeing from tough situations and need a place to stay.

Both the library staff and teens said they were moved by the experience.

“Participating in the Social Justice Teen App Challenge gave us the exciting opportunity to use our computer science knowledge to innovate and showcase a practical solution for psychological depression--a subtle, social injustice that affects all walks of life,” said Deepak Ramalingam of Team Hapi. “We hope our application will make a positive impact on the lives of others and potentially change the world.”

A panel of judges ranked the submissions. Team Hapi received $500 in gift cards, while Team Teresa
members received $250 in gift cards, and members of Team LLT (creators of the Salutem App) received
$100 in cards.

The contest and program series was sponsored by the Friends of the Cupertino Library.

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