PDX Concierge wins Rep. Suzanne Bonamici’s (OR-01) 2020 Congressional App Challenge

When asked what inspired the creation of PDX Concierge, the student said, “In April 2020, after learning that COVID-19 is most detrimental to those who are elderly or immunosuppressed, I immediately thought of my grandmother, who is in her late 70s and suffers from asthma. I realized that a simple task like buying groceries was now a danger that could put someone at risk of COVID-19. With this in mind, I was inspired to create an app where high-schoolers deliver groceries free of charge to higher-risk groups like the elderly and immunocompromised.”

Over 6,500 students registered for the 2020 Congressional App Challenge. These students created and submitted 3,088 functioning apps, marking the end of an extremely successful Congressional App Challenge amid the COVID-19 pandemic. All told, 308 Members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 49 states, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands, and Washington, DC.

The CAC is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host competitions in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. The Internet Education Foundation provides the CAC with supplemental support. In the six years of the Congressional App Challenge, thousands of functional apps have been created by over 30,000 students, and participant demographics surpass all industry diversity metrics.