Our lives depend on our neighborhoods, but we lack high quality information about where to go for the resources we need most. MAPSCorps engages youth to close the information gap so we can access the resources we all need to do good, stay well and live long. We employ youth as community data scientists. They are trained to apply scientific method and mobile technology to capture data about all the
public-facing businesses and organizations serving their community. As a result, our students become confident and capable communicators and meet high standards as they develop basic job skills. Our data boosts local economies by making sure every public-facing business and organization is on the map. We’ve mapped more than 25,000 businesses and organizations in Chicago and New York City. These data are used by healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, leaders, entrepreneurs, residents and others for better health, well-being and economic vitality. We partner with Cook County Land Bank to inventory the condition of vacant and distressed properties in Chicago. The Land Bank then uses the information to promote redevelopment and reuse of the properties to revitalize communities. We partner with Voices for Youth Count to collect information about homeless youth and homeless encampments on the south and west sides of Chicago in order to support their efforts to capture the experiences of homeless youth. We also partner with NowPow, a knowledge utility company that powers up under-served communities by providing people the vital information they need to stay well and live long. MAPSCorps, a 501c3, and NowPow, a for-profit social enterprise, together make up a self-sustaining collective social impact model. MAPSCorps and NowPow catalyze communities by building the workforce of the future and improving the health and vitality of its people, businesses and organizations. Meaningful and Productive Science in Service to Communities (MAPSCorps) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based on Chicago’s South Side where the idea was born. The organization grew out of the South Side Health and Vitality Studies, led by the research laboratory of Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, MAPP, at the University of Chicago.
