Winner of the "Most Impactful" category in the Indigitous #Hack2025 Toronto Hackathon.
The project is done in Vite using Typescript. It uses Leaflet.js to create the map and the Joshua project API to create a searchable wiki.
We wanted to build something to help the least reached people in our community. BridgeTO is a website that allows organizations to host events to reach out to, include and honor those in our community who are usually forgotten.
It provides resources and tools using the Joshua Project API to spread awareness about least reached people groups and facilitates organizations in connecting with them. One tool in particular is an interactive map that shows the organizations and concentrations of least reached peoples in different neighborhoods. Another is a wiki, and yet another provides information and inspiration to those who want to help marginalized groups but may not know where to start.
The goal is to use the information and resources that exist, such as the Joshua Project database, and to package it up to faciliate events that genuinely help the people in our community that most need help.
Our original idea was somewhat disjointed and broad, focusing only on spreading messages of positivity throughout the community, but we jumped right into coding and had most of an MVP done. This was the evening before our submissions were due.
We came to realize that we didn't like that idea, and came up with the current project, of promoting events to connect with the least reached communities in Toronto. We liked that the new idea could bring in higher user interest and a more tangible impact.
Our team had to create a working MVP for the new demo, adapting the code for quite a different idea. We were worried about the time left, and almost just put up some design mockups.
We created a plan. My team would adapt what we could from the old website, specifically the intake forms and the postings board. We would integrate the completely separate app we'd been playing with to show maps of the community. Finally, we'd expand and adapt a "fun fact" section on the website to provide search functionality and create a wiki that could provide resources and information to the community.
It required some late-night coding, but we got a working prototype up and running for the presentation the next day, and our new concept was specifically praised by the judges. I'm proud of our resourcefulness, enthusiasm and resilience.
Shoutout to my wonderful teammates, Abishek Bhuvanaratnam, Zion Park and Chris Ijogbe!