CommunitySTRONG

Problem: Isolation in communities; people don't interact with their neighbors but instead focus on their own lives; lack of accessibility to information & resources in community; lack of support in communities when facing financial, business, family and other difficulties.

Solution: Build a platform to host information & resources (business, events, attractions, restaurants, fun facts, mentorships, trainings, fundings, schools ect) in communities; to enable communication among neighbors to enhance & improve community life/environment; to connect people with their neighbors, with business and with resources available as well as opportunities. Searchable within predetermined distances of a specified address.

Positive change: People living in same communities could connect with their neighbors and help each other, providing support when neighbors are in the moment of need; Change the facts that people feel isolated in their community and don't know where to locate resources; Help people in the same communities more prepared and provide mentorship/training in communities; 

People are strangers within their own communities, especially in big cities. They are isolate, lonely and don't interact with their neighbors. Many, especially newcomers, don't know what resources are available. People, mostly low income and less connected people, don't know how to find the right resources such as financial, business and training within the community. Small businesses struggle to attract locals who often default to larger national chains. Local organizations have tons of events, information and resources available, however, often have low participation because these resources are not widely promoted to relevant community members.

Contributing factors includes mass migrations into cities, according to the United Nations, 68% of world population are estimated to live in cites by 2050 (https://www.un.org/development...). Also, 11% of American relocated in 2017 alone, based on data on move.org  (https://www.move.org/moving-st...). On top of that, in 2017, 13.6% of people, or 44.4 million, living in the states are immigrated from other parts of the world, according to data published on Pew Research Center, and it is projected to double by 2065. (https://www.pewhispanic.org/20...). Individualism probably contributes to it as well, according to Clearly Culture, United States is rated the Number 1, 91 scores, among all nations (https://clearlycultural.com/ge...).

Immigrates from worldwide, people relocated from other parts of the United States and locals who are isolated themselves from the communities are the people that I want to help.

Reach out to local businesses, organizations and invite them to be present at the platform; Reach out to local libraries, fitness centers, community centers, street, ward, zone, town and city centers, discuss with them regarding their most interested tops and invite them to share information such as available trainings, volunteer positions, mentor/coach availabilities.

Helping people to be able to allocate resources and connect with neighbors. Once people are connect to their resources, they will be able to get trained, mentor/coached, and more competitive in the job market or solve problems on their own and be able to help others in the community. 

To bring local knowledge of the communities and share with all neighbors: Build a website to host different resources and information, divided by street/neighborhoods/towns/cities/states, and categories by local restaurants, salons, food market, libraries, fitness center, banks, training and mentorship, clubs, history, museums, schools, etc, with photos and maps, as well as have section to enable neighbors to open topic and engage in discussion, form clubs online and engage in offline activities; list and create a bridge to Tripadvisor, local Chamber of Commerce, local Tourism Bureau, and vast various local resource website.

With the development of the internet and technology, the new standard of being social is presence online, however, the websites owned by giant tech companies connect people with friends from other side of the world, but not their neighbors and created isolation in communities. With most companies have web presence, but there's no such one platform to connect all resourceful websites and information with people living in the same communities, and vise versa. 

My solution will be rely on technology of world wide web

According to Dr. Maryjoan D. Ladden on her article published on Robert Wood Johnson Funation, social isolation is a health risk and communities are working to reduce social isolation( https://www.rwjf.org/en/blog/2...).

Currently, this is only an idea. Within one year, after the website is up running, I hope to serve people living in Providence. Within 5 years, people live in Greater Boston area, and other parts of the New England area, as well as possibly people in New York City.

Within one year, after the website is up running, I hope to include community resources and information in Providence. Within 5 years, resources and information in Greater Boston area, and other parts of the New England area, as well as possibly people in New York City should be included in the website.

By approaching to tourism bureau and their members  various community organizations, business associations and their members, non-for-profit organizations and various association groups as well as training centers, to invite them to have presence on my website. People who visit my website will take away information that will help them to connect with right resources and organizations, to enable them to connect with their neighbors and engage in online conversations to promote a strong sense of being neighbors, and help each other.

I don't have training to start a company, and don't have access to funding as well as need help to set up my website and promote it.

In next five years, to include vast resources, I will need a team to help to reach out to business and organizations as well as service providers to have presence on my website. Also I will need a team to bring awareness of my website and connect to neighbors in communities that my websites collect and host information in. Last but not least, I will need people to help to bring in more funding and work on accounting records & report.

Win Solve 2019 to gain initial seed money, and work with local university to develop website. 

After website is up running, I can charge businesses for referral fee per click. Using this money to grow and expand business.

alone: Lili Chen

Having a MBA degree, and recently earned my Marketing Strategy Certificate from eCornell, I have worked for a start up company for almost 6 years, I understands and know how business is operated. 

First came as foreign student studied in the United States and then work here, for about 9 years, I have overcome lots of barriers and have experienced many of inconvenience and difficulties to locate information and resources. I want to save people like me and others the hustle to goose-chase information and resources, and miss lots of opportunities to be a better-self, and to connect to community as well as re-invest in the community. I want to help local business from closing (for example Benny's), change the facts that Rhode Island people refer locations to closed business, help local/community business to bloom and blossom. 

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People living same communities would connect to each other and have support within communities, and are able to find information and resources, easily. While local businesses will thrive with more traffic referred by my website.

Market Linkage Model: No charge for people to visit my website for information or post on discussion. But businesses will be charged per click for referral.

Solve can provide solid suggestions & coaches how to make my idea come true, and connect me with great resources that make my idea happen.

non-for-profit organizations, Universities, web host /design companies