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Spotlight
Casting the Spotlight on passionate and creative
Canadians and the innovative organizations
that are making their mark in the nonprofit sector
and helping to build a better society.
This month, the Spotlight is on . . .
YWCA Safety Siren
 By Louise Chatterton Luchuk
August 30, 2010
TORONTO, ON // "Healthy dating? There's an app for that!" enthuses Corinne Rusch-Drutz, director of communications and membership development for YWCA Canada. The YWCA Safety Siren (available in both English and French) offers users a unique utility siren which can be activated by either pressing the safety button or by shaking an iPhone or iTouch. The App also offers Canadian health and safety information geared toward young women, including:
- short questions and answers about women's health and wellness, particularly focused on dating and social interaction;
- tips and facts on safety and wellbeing;
- links to YWCAs across Canada as well as health and crisis resource centres; and,
- SOS urgent email and phone functionality to a friend or family member when the user is in an unsafe situation.
"The summer's must have accessory."
Officially launched May 21st, there is no other App like this...and it is free. Explains Rusch-Drutz, "We're very committed to open source access material. There are a few other utility sirens available but they don't have the information side that we do. They don't prepare the user to go out safely nor do they provide information about what to do in a situation." That's a very important element of this new App which targets 18-24 year old young women. For that demographic, the iPhone or iTouch is a very personal belonging that goes most anywhere with them. That means the App will be accessible in an urgent context or in a situation where that young woman needs support. The information is also available in a private setting and, while a computer may be shared with others, a young woman can access sexual health information and resources in a private setting by accessing this App.
The genesis of the idea
The idea for the Safety Siren App, according to Rusch-Drutz, was an idea that came to her in the shower. She was thinking about the Apple branding of the phrase "There's an App for that" and it occurred to her that there was an App for almost everything but where were the Apps helping young women to be safe? That thought led to her wondering why the YWCA wasn't offering some sort of App, which quickly led to a eureka moment of "I could do that!" (However, she quickly concedes that at the point in time she had no idea how she would do it but she was determined to find out!)
YWCA had already produced a resource for young women entitled "The Girls Guide for Knowing Her Rights" and the health and safety information contained in this resource was the foundation for building the App content. Building the App involved hiring an App developer and a new media consultant. "There are lots of App developers out there developing products just for Apple," says Rusch-Drutz. "Unless you write code, you need to hire someone. It's also not like building a website. It's a different beast altogether and you can only have so many characters on a page and images are layered differently. Working with Apple is a very specific process and you must follow the rules and standards in their very detailed user guide (150+ pages)."
Blazing an App trail for nonprofits
Rusch-Drutz and YWCA Canada blazed a bit of a trail when it came to developing this App. As Rusch-Drutz discovered, getting a technology and development team to understand the perspective of a social service organization is really important as Apple Apps are primarily geared to the large market of gamers. Therefore, the language used to support the development of Apps is not nonprofit- and social service-friendly. For instance, at one point, it was up in the air if the YWCA Safety Siren App would be classified as 17+ because of words like "abortion," "penis," and "vagina." "For us, this is basic sexual health information," remarks Rusch-Drutz. "That's the context that we were using the language. You can't talk about sexual health without talking about these words. We give non-judgemental information so the end user can make an informed decision." However, from Apple's perspective, these words were inappropriate and that had to do with gaming restrictions for those particular words. Similarly, Rusch-Drutz wanted to use an image of a condom but figured that it would be a red flag for Apple so the image was changed to a less "sexually graphic image."
For other nonprofit organizations thinking of developing an App, Rusch-Drutz has some recommendations.
- Make sure that any App idea has new content and is not just information that could be found on the organization's website or simply directs people straight to the main website.
- Work with a developer and making sure the developer also understands the mission and mandate of your organization.
- Don't put any information on your App about donations. Says Rusch-Drutz, "It's not a fundraising activity. Our App is an activity to extend our reach, to start new conversations and to engage people in what we are doing. People aren't going to want to be asked over and over again to donate but people will want to use your App for the service it provides."
- 4. Don't plan on updating your App a lot. App development is expensive and, therefore, updates won't happen very often.
A snapshot of... |
Who: YWCA Canada
Mandate/Mission: A Voice for Equality… A Strong Voice for women
Location: National Office is in downtown Toronto; 33 YWCA Member Associations, serving 400 districts and communities, are across the country.
When established: 1812
Number of staff: 12 in the National Office
Budget: $5,592,894
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What's next?
With this experience under her belt, Rusch-Drutz and YWCA Canada are already thinking about other Apps for other stakeholders like parents with regards to child safety or an App to connect women who are in abusive situations with shelters. YWCA Canada is also interested in securing funds to develop a similar App for the Blackberry.
As the country's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization, YWCA Canada wants to continue to support young women and developing Apps is a key way to provide service to, and connect with, millennials. "If you don't engage with the medium, you are cutting yourself off" remarks Rusch-Drutz. "If you don't move with the shape and time that you're in, then the conversation ends. We want to continue to support young women because if we're not there when they need us, they will turn elsewhere or, worse, nowhere."
The YWCA Safety Siren can be downloaded for free from iTunes.
Louise Chatterton Luchuk provides research and resources for organizations that want to strategically move forward. She is a consultant and writer who combines her love of writing with research and project management experience at the regional, provincial and national levels of voluntary/nonprofit organizations. You can reach Louise at info@luchuk.com.
Have you -- or your organization -- experienced a stunning success or spectacular failure? How are you creatively and innovatively making your mark? These are the stories we want to capture. Help make the nonprofit sector stronger by sharing your story and the valuable lessons you learned along the way. Email us today at editor@charityvillage.com. |
