Introducing the Tech & Data Help Desk

Published on Jul 31, 2020 by Derek Eder

Chi Hack Night is now offering free tech & data assistance to nonprofits, government, small businesses and people that request it.

With everyone adjusting to a more digital work and life, we see a large and growing need for technical and data assistance, but with little or no means to pay for it. The Chi Hack Night Tech & Data Help Desk is here to help.

We offer assistance with:

• Finding or getting access to data
• Cleaning up or analyzing data
• Providing recommendations on what technology to use to solve a problem
• Guidance on building my own app or website
• Help with using software like Zoom, Google Docs, and GIS tools
• Ethical guidance on the potential harm caused by using data or technology

To request assistance, fill out this form: bit.ly/chn-help-desk

Our principles

We are all volunteers: The Tech & Data Help Desk is staffed by volunteers from the Chi Hack Night community. Volunteers fill out a form to share their skills and experience, and opt-in to fulfilling requests as they come in. Each request typically gets between 1 and 3 volunteers assigned, depending on the complexity and zide. To sign up, fill out this form: bit.ly/chn-help-desk-volunteer

We focus on short-term engagements: Our engagements are intended to be limited and not a substitute for full-time paid labor. Our goal is to help perform small technical tasks, provide guidance & resources or otherwise get you ‘unstuck’ with a technical or data issue so you can continue your work.

We try to help anyone who asks: We will try to help anyone who asks, including community-based organizations, government staff, small businesses and individual residents in the Chicagoland region. If we can’t help you, we will try to refer you to an organization that can.

We respect confidentiality: We respect your privacy and confidentiality. We will not share your information outside our pool of volunteers or with any third parties.

Help us spread the word

If you know of any person or organization who you think could use our help, please share this with them. The Chi Hack Night network is large, but there are many people in Chicagoland who we can not reach. Please help spread the word about this program!

Request help from the Help Desk: bit.ly/chn-help-desk
Sign up to volunteer: bit.ly/chn-help-desk-volunteer

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