On behalf of the Social Code team I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that our mobile application Code Blue has been selected by a panel of judges as the Grand Prize Winner of the 2014 Mobileys Awards!

The Mobileys is a nationwide USA competition run by Mobile Future which celebrates and supports early-stage mobile apps, products and services which have meaningful social benefits. First place grants us $10,000 of the total $20,000 prize pool, which is a massive boost for the development of Code Blue! Our North America marketing and development manager Rin will demonstrate our Code Blue prototype in Washington DC next month, and accept our prize on the team’s behalf.

Code Blue will be a free app which will act as a mobile support system helping young people experiencing depression or bullying get immediate help from people they trust. Sending a Code Blue alert will be like pressing a panic button for these young people, letting their pre-selected support crew know they need support - and eliminating the need for the young person to think of what to say.

We have recently conducted a further focus group and had some fantastic feedback on our prototype from the young people who attended. Self-esteem generally develops in people between 12-20 years of age, which means teenagers tend to lack the resilience to bounce back from life’s blows. In an age where things like cyber-bullying can go unnoticed by adults, this can leave young people depressed and feeling worthless. Code Blue will address this alarming issue via a simple solution delivered via the one thing young people are never without – their mobile phone.

We would also like to send huge congratulations to our fellow winners - First Derm in second place, and Volunteer Mark in third.

If you would like to keep up to date on Code Blue’s progress, visit codeblue.io where you can sign up to receive email notification when we get closer to launch. Thank you so much for your support!