There, we’ve said it. We actually “heart” something more than data.
Imagine a force that never gets used up, but only gets stronger and multiplies the more it’s exerted. What kind of dark magic, cloud-based power could this be? Volunteer power!
We know - it seems a little quaint, a little 1990s. But the truth is our work depends on volunteers! Not just any volunteers though - we are constantly blown away by the sheer talent and expertise in our community, many of whom are top data scientists in their field.
That’s why for National Volunteer Week, we wanted to honor the amazing individuals that donate their time and talent and truly are the face of DataKind. You’ve probably seen some those faces in pictures from our recent DataDives, but we wanted to use this week to honor our less-photographed, yet uber-dedicated, DataCorps volunteers:
DataCorps is our signature program that brings together teams of pro bono data scientists with social change organizations on long-term projects that use data science to transform their work and their sector.
Donating a whopping five hours a week over the course 1-6 months on TOP of their full time day jobs, these superheroes make pro bono as much a part of data science as python or statistics. We launch new DataCorps projects roughly every three months, so we wanted to showcase volunteers from recently completed projects, projects about to finish and projects that just kicked off. We’ll be posting a blog each day this week - get ready to be amazed!
Know an inspiring data volunteer that needs a shout out? Tweet @DataKind using #NVW2015 to sing their praises along with us!
Interested in seeing how your organization can use data science?
Read this introduction to data science and learn more about DataCorps.
Interested in volunteering your skills on a DataCorps team?
Learn more about DataCorps and apply online.