Hill Country Memorial Hospital Goes Mobile with Smartphone App

Fredericksburg, TX and Denver, CO (PRWEB) November 09, 2011

With U.S. smartphone ownership now at 40%, more consumers than ever before are using their mobile devices to access information online. Hill Country Memorial Hospital today announced plans to reach out to the growing mobile market through a partnership with iTriage

Math Goes Green: Custom Software by Nagarro Runs First Paperless Moodys Mega Math Challenge

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) June 2, 2010

News Facts:

SIAM has successfully implemented a custom software product designed by Nagarro to automate the judging process of the 2010 Moodys Mega Math Challenge. This year, more than 500 teams of high school math students are competing for scholarships totaling $ 100,000, with a grand prize of a $ 20,000 scholarship to be shared among members of the winning team.
The submissions which contain up to 20 pages of text, charts, graphs, tables and equations were judged among seven teams of PhD-level professional applied mathematicians. Over a period of 20 days, each submission was evaluated by multiple judges who were able to view submissions online and remotely at their own convenience, thus eliminating printing, mailing and redistribution of printed hard copies.
In order to deal with the increasing number of submissions and judges spanning a greater geographic area, SIAM enlisted Nagarro to design, build and implement custom software to manage the first round of the judging process for the contest. The new system created by Nagarro logs, tracks, calibrates and calculates the scoring of each submission online; provides judging instructions and relevant background for each judge; ensures complete password-protected confidentiality of all entries; captures judges comments clearly and legibly; and enables judges to participate remotely and forward submissions to other judges electronically in order to meet critical deadlines.
Prior to implementing the custom software developed by Nagarro, the judging process for the contest was primarily manual and paper-based. Though the previous system was effective, it had become increasingly time-consuming to administer within the proscribed timeframe as the Moodys Mega Math Challenge grew each year. In addition to making the process more scalable, SIAM also wanted to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of paper and shipping related to the submission and judging processes.
Nagarros solution was developed in Microsoft

A Little Lather Goes a Long Way: Soap Hope and The PLAN Fund Announce New Anti-Poverty Partnership

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) October 2, 2009

All-natural soap bars are this year's newest fuel for ending poverty. Soap Hope (http://www.soaphope.com), a leading online retailer of all-natural, high-quality soaps and body care products, and the PLAN Fund (http://www.planfund.org), a Dallas-based microlending organization, today announced their new partnership, in which Soap Hope will invest its annual profits to support the mission of the PLAN Fund.

Founded in 2008 by Dallas entrepreneurs Salah Boukadoum and Craig Tiritilli, Soap Hope operates under what the team calls the Good Returns model, in which a business invests resources in organizations that impact the lives of those in need. The businesses in turn receive a reciprocal benefit through increased community visibility and market awareness. Soap Hope is the first in what the founders expect will be a series of companies that embrace the Good Returns model.

"Good Returns redefines the relationship between private enterprise and charitable activity," explains Tiritilli. "We use every resource of the company - capital, communications channels to customers and the media, and Soap Hope's products themselves - to expand the capacity of nonprofits that are focused on ending poverty. We want to see every business deploy its resources this way - think of the progress we can make toward ending poverty worldwide."

Soap Hope deploys 100 percent of its profits through one-year, interest-free loans to local, national and global microlending programs that focus on women entrepreneurs in need. The PLAN Fund was chosen as one of this year's recipients; the investment will be used to grow the number of microloans made to aspiring, low income entrepreneurs in the Dallas area.

"The PLAN Fund is a natural fit for us," says Boukadoum, "They provide their constituents with capital, training and support - not handouts. It's the kind of organization that can help people, families and whole communities become self-sufficient."

The PLAN Fund's mission is to increase economic stability and self-sufficiency within Dallas County's low and moderate income communities by developing small business entrepreneurs, especially women, through hands-on business training, business development services and micro-credit.

"Most businesses operate as though profits and responsibility are competing interests in a zero-sum game. We started Soap Hope to prove otherwise and to serve as a model for the Good Returns approach," says Boukadoum of the company's purpose.

With the Good Returns model, Soap Hope supports empowerment and self-sufficiency through local and global microfinance initiatives. Microlending programs that focus on women extend even further to support their children and neighbors, lifting entire communities out of poverty. Micro lenders typically focus on borrowers who don't have access to funds through traditional sources such as banks, offering individuals in poverty a chance to succeed. Through September, 2009, out of 502 business loans the average size of loans at the PLAN Fund has been $ 1,475.

"Our relationship with Soap Hope brings a spectrum of new opportunities to The PLAN Fund," says Anthony Pace, executive director of The PLAN Fund. "It's not just contributing capital; it's a whole program of resources and awareness-building."

Under the arrangement, Soap Hope promotes the mission of The PLAN Fund by including educational materials in customer orders, posting information in its online store and raising awareness of the PLAN Fund through its social media campaigns on its blog, Twitter and Facebook.

The PLAN Fund goes beyond microcredit by providing education, leadership development, support and networking opportunities to ensure that investments are secure and members become self-sufficient.

"Microlending is most successful when the lender also provides education and support," says Tiritilli. "The PLAN fund excels in this area."

Members of the PLAN fund participate in hands-on training classes and peer-support programs. The classes educate members on basic skills necessary for a successful business, including cash flow analysis, sales forecasting and marketing, and pricing and cost analysis.

"With our holistic business and personal training support program, and micro-lending, it is proven we can enable people to become more successful and sustainable entrepreneurs," says Pace.

Soap Hope was created to be a socially responsible company from end to end. All products are made from 100 percent natural ingredients, packaging comes from reused materials, and all profits are deployed to support microfinance initiatives.

Purchasing all-natural body care products from Soap Hope not only benefits local business entrepreneurs through the PLAN Fund, but also supports independent soap makers and reduces consumer carbon footprints. The model of Good Returns at Soap Hope leaves the consumer with only one decision to make: which soap to buy.

About Soap Hope

Texas businessmen, Salah Boukadoum and Craig Tiritilli, founded Soap Hope in 2008 after the sale of their technology company. Located in Dallas, TX the company promotes environmentally friendly business practices and invests 100 percent of its profits into micro lending funds for women entrepreneurs. The company is best known for carrying high-quality, handcrafted products to its online customers. Soap Hope sells products from Indigo Wild, Hugo Naturals, A Wild Soap Bar, Pangea Organics and Fraiche. Soap Hope's products are 100% all-natural; free of all artificial preservatives, colors, and fragrances; paraben-free; and cruelty-free.

Visit http://www.soaphope.com for information on the company and products or contact Salah Boukadoum at 888-893-SOAP or salah at soaphope dot com.

About The PLAN Fund

The PLAN Fund, http://www.planfund.org, is a non-profit 501c3 whose mission is to increase economic stability and self-sufficiency within Dallas County's low- and moderate-income communities by developing small business entrepreneurs, especially women, through hands-on business training, business- development services and micro-credit.

For more information on the PLAN Fund contact Anthony Pace at 214-942-6698 or apace at planfund dot org.

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