Gloucestershire charity and SoGlos's Charity of the Year, the Hollie Gazzard Trust, is launching a Crowdfunding campaign to keep its ground-breaking HollieGuard app free in the UK.
Its new '10k for 10 years' appeal marks the charity's 10th year and the 10th anniversary of Hollie's untimely death at the hands of her ex partner.
The appeal aims to raise enough money to cover the increasing costs of maintaining the HollieGuard app and keeping it to the highest possible standards, while ensuring it stays free for users.
HollieGuard is designed to empower people at risk of domestic abuse and violence by turning a smartphone into a personal safety device. The app — which has a stealth mode that mimics the home screen — can raise an alert with a simple tap or shake of the phone.
Once activated, HollieGuard notifies designated emergency contacts that an alert has been raised, as well as automatically capturing both video and audio footage which is stored on the HollieGuard server, so even if the device is lost or destroyed, the footage captured can be used as evidence. It can also keep a log of incidents to help create a timeline of events.
The app has grown exponentially since its launch and has had over 500,000 downloads so far, with a diverse variety of people using it to help them feel safe when travelling alone, attending work meetings and even going out for a run.
It also has the official Police Crime Prevention Initiative seal, Secure by Design, and is used by police forces across the UK — with HollieGuard having assisted in over 60 criminal investigations.
Funds raised will go towards the continuing development of the app, as well as ensuring it stays available for free, for everyone.
For more information, or to donate to the appeal, visit crowdfunder.co.uk/hollie-guard-10k-for-10-years.
