HourShop wins Rep. Jerry McNerney’s (CA-09) 2020 Congressional App Challenge

When asked what inspired the creation of HourShop, the student said, “During the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is risky and difficult to run small errands such as getting groceries. Students are also deprived of the opportunities to collect volunteer hours because of quarantine. HourShop provides an efficient way for students to get community service hours during the pandemic and help those at a higher risk, get their groceries.”

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.