This post brought to you by Capital One. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.
Last week I shared with you my #WishForOthers that I submitted to Capital One (if you missed it, I wished to help others get back their memories!). Lots of great wishes are going to be granted this season by Capital One, and I really love that the focus is on making wishes for other people. We all get asked frequently by our family and friends what we want for Christmas, but what would we wish for if we could give it to someone else? You should definitely check out the Wish For Others website and see some of the awesome submissions! Vieweing them has helped me remember that it really is better to give than to receive.
Yesterday I asked Tim (my husband, if you are new to the blog) what his wish for others would be, and he told me all about a project that combines his passions and a real need in a very compelling way. Here’s the 27 second version of his wish!
Missing Maps Project
Now for a little more detail on his wish! Tim loves this concept because he is a mapper, himself. In his free time, he helps map areas of the world that haven’t been mapped in a format that is accessible to anyone for free. Yeah, I know…nerd alert! It brings him a great deal of joy to put his technical chops to work in a way that is genuinely helpful to other people, and the Missing Maps Project is doing just that. People with mapping skills, like Tim, can use satellite data to map areas, so they don’t even have to travel to these areas to get the mapping off to a great start.
Local community members and volunteers can then help fill in some of the gaps, naming the neighborhoods that aren’t recorded anywhere else, or street names, etc. These maps are absoluely critical to humanitarian organizations who might need to come in during a natural disaster, or a political crisis, or something similar.
What an amazing thing that people all over the world can come together to create. It’s easy to forget that in many parts of the world, there are VERY large shanty towns and tent cities that have been created out of necessity, and that millions of people call home. They are often at least somewhat organized and mappable, but many of them have yet to be mapped, which makes it really hard to provide rapid, efficient relief when the need arises. But it doesn’t have to be this way!
What’s Your #WishForOthers?
It may be the case that nobody has asked you this year what you’d like to give to others. Let me be the first, in that case! What would love just love to see an individual, a group, or even an organization receive this year? Think about it, and then grab your smartphone or your camera and record your thoughts (30 seconds is all you need!). Tag it with #WishForOthers, and upload it to the Wish For Others website, on your Instagram account, on Twitter, or to Capital One’s Facebook page and your wish just might be granted! Your wish can be for a family member, a friend, a neighbor, or even a whole community. You have until December 23rd to share your wish, but why not take 30 seconds right now and submit it so you won’t forget?