A Kelowna mom is developing a new app that will make it easy to ask for help, get help, and to help others in your community.
Ashley Stone said the idea for the app ‘Village’ came about after finding out she was pregnant for the third time, a couple of years ago. When her twin boys were born, she reached out to friends and family to help her with managing the house and taking care of her other children.
“We had hired a girl to help us with tidying up and of course we had friends and family, but there were still gaps where it was just me with four kids and my husband away for work,” Stone said.
“But when I reached out to a lot of the people who initially offered help, most of them were unavailable. They also had their own lives and they couldn’t just come and help me.”
She said she only asked for help when there were things she couldn’t do by herself, and so the idea for Village was born: a platform where people can put out requests for help, or company with likeminded people or others who they know will be available and able to help.
The app makes it easy to communicate with people around you who want to help you.
“It’s not only about communicating with people you already know, but it’s also helping you connect with the people in your neighbourhood.”
“It’s building some hyper-local connections,” Stone added.
Village is not just for new mothers who need a hand with their day-to-day. It can also be used by seniors, those who are immunocompromised, to ask for help getting groceries as they are isolating. Or, by people who may be new in town and would like to meet people in their neighbourhood who have similar interests and similar lifestyles.
In all, Stone said the point of Village is to connect people, especially during these difficult times.
“It’s a connection tool. We’re not a social media platform where we’re asking for you to spend your time with us, but we’re asking you to spend time with other people,” she added.
“Your neighbours are out there… I think Village really has that capability to rebuild our communities and take them back as our own.”
The app is nearly complete, but Stone said they’re now looking for beta testers before the final product is released to the public.
For more information on Village as well as how to be a beta tester, visit the app’s site.
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