Make a Pledge
- POSTED ON: 8 Jul, 2016
- TOTAL VIEWS: 1191 Views
- POSTED BY: Archana Subramanian
- ARTICLE POINTS: 100 Points
Priyal Jain and Prateek Mahesh have just made it easier for you to make a difference. Check out their new app.
You hear of a boy missing his board exam due to traffic…what do you do? Feel bad, talk about it for a while, wonder what will happen to him. This is what sets Priyal Jain and Prateek Mahesh apart. Rather than talking, they mulled over it, and decided that hassles like these can spoil things for many people and a solution was needed. They discussed it and came up with the idea of vPledge, a platform where one takes a small pledge that will bring about a big change to society.
Big steps
Priyal, is a 13-year-old, and studies at Delhi Public School, Bengaluru. She says, “It is designed for people who want to make this planet a better place to live in. This summer, I had enrolled for AcadGild’s (a technology education startup in Bengaluru) Android Summer Course. At this course, Prateek and I became good friends, as we were in the same batch. We wanted to develop an app together.”
“We developed the app after learning Android for Kids. Using our app, people can pledge and take up causes such as conserving nature, donating meals, feeding stray dogs, using public transport, ensuring better health, hygiene or education and complete activities that will contribute to the greater societal good. We are targeting students as well as all citizens of the country,” says Prateek Mahesh, a Std. VII student of New Horizon Public School, Bengaluru.
Redeem your rewards
Through the vPledge app, an individual can make a pledge such as planting 10 trees. When the pledge has been fulfilled, “vPledgers” — as the app’s users are called — are provided access to share their accomplishment on social media channels, tag friends, challenge them and also grab points that can be redeemed. vPledgers can graduate to other levels with activities such as feeding and caring for strays, distributing storybooks to poor children, walking two to three km every day to ensure better health and reducing vehicle emissions, donating meals to poor. In fact, within a fortnight of the release, 10 per cent of the pledgers have marked their pledges as complete and have moved on to the next level. By far, the most popular pledges to date are ‘Donate 10 meals’ and ‘Use public transport’.
“Seeing the app we created is a dream come true. We feel that in India there is a lack of social awareness. So, this app is our contribution to society. Pledges such as using public transport for a month, quitting smoking, starting composting, carpooling, and planting trees among other things can fetch great benefits for all. vPledge is an app with small attainable goals aimed at achieving a bigger significant mission. Change can happen when we all come together,” say Priyal and Prateek.
They have big plans.
“Yes, now we have a little over 1,000 users but in the next six months we aim for one million downloads. We are also looking forward to support from NGOs to help us spread the word and also reward vPledgers who completed their pledge. We are not earning from this app; we just want to make a difference.”