Five apps that make the world a better place
By Smartphones have bought a huge selection of apps to the palm of our hands. Many of them make a big difference to our day-to-day lives, but most people don’t realise that some apps can make a huge difference to charitable causes across the world as well. Amongst the games and social media apps are some that can truly make a change for the better, and you can do something great with just a click of a button.
Here are five apps to download today to help make the world a little better.
If you want to exercise both your body and your conscious, then Charity Miles is the ideal app for you. The app is completely free to download and lets you choose which charity you want to donate to at the start of each workout session. The options include Stand Up to Cancer, Feed America and Autism Speaks, amongst others, with more non-American options expected to be added soon.
Introducing Charity Miles from Charity Miles on Vimeo.
Then all you have to do is walk, run or cycle your way to a fitter you as the app tracks your progress. Once you post the results of your workout to social media, Charity Miles will donate 10c per mile for cyclers and 25c per mile for walkers and runners.
Add a little more excitement to charity fundraising and get your friends and family involved with the Budge Challenge app. Create and set challenges for your nearest and dearest, whether it’s a silly contest or a motivational goal. It’s completely up to you.
The loser will then have to pay an agreed upon donation to a charity. Last year, Budge had 81.4 billion downloads worldwide, proving that a little added fun can go a long way to doing good.
Hero Bears is the charming and quite frankly adorable game created in aid of Help for Heroes. It costs just £1.99 to download, with £1 going towards the organisation to help support injured servicemen and women.
The game theme stays true to its charitable roots as well, featuring two bears carrying an injured bear across different levels on a stretcher. As you move across the different platforms, players have to collect as many coins as possible to climb the ranks of the leaderboard.
Play to Cure is the first ever free mobile game that uses the collective force of its players to help develop life-saving treatments for cancer. The mission of the game is to collect a fictional substance called Element Alpha as you travel through space. This represents genetic cancer data and as you play your mapped routes help scientists understand this information and create cures.
The app has already attracted a huge amount of interest. Sue Hammett, the Head of Corporate Giving at Rational Group, the parent company of Full Tilt Poker, said that “it’s a unique way to help Cancer Research UK with their amazing work and great fun at the same time.”
This app was created by the world’s refugee agency UNHCR and manages to put the player in the shoes of a struggling refugee. You can play as one of three characters as you try to reunite with your family and find safety, tackling a series of real life situations that refugees are forced to face every day.
My Life as a Refugee from ACW on Vimeo.
Eight people around the world will become refugees in the time it takes to download this app. It is a great way to spread awareness of the projects that work to support those fleeing conflict and prosecution.
