WASHINGTON — Today, Representative Josh Harder announced that Divya Katyal and Rana Banankhah, both seniors from Modesto High School, have won his office’s 2021 Congressional App Challenge. Their app, Community Connections, bridges the communication gap between volunteers, who would like to have conversations with seniors, and seniors, who are currently isolated and in need of someone to talk to. Seniors can upload their information to a general feed so that volunteers can contact them and get in touch. Users are also able to view seniors’ needs and volunteer to help them by contacting them through the provided information.
View a demonstration of their app online here.
“The young people in the Valley never cease to amaze me,” said Rep. Harder. “I’m incredibly excited to announce that Divya and Rana have won our 2021 Congressional App Challenge for designing an app that connects our seniors in need with volunteers willing to lend their time. What a great mission and a fantastic idea.”
In their application, the two wrote, “During this COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most severely impacted groups has also been our society’s most precious group, our elders. Not only are they much more susceptible to having severe side-effects of this virus, but they have also been the most isolated over the course of this quarantine. Our app, Community Connections, strives to bring some comfort and human interaction to our community’s senior citizens who are currently lacking those connections.”
