FRESNO, Calif.\u202f\u2014 Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) today announced\u202fNatalie Bonilla\u202fas the winner of the\u202f2025 Congressional App Challenge\u202ffor California\u2019s 21st Congressional District.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie Bonilla, a senior at Selma High School, developed Community Support<\/a>, a mobile app designed for both iOS and Android platforms. The app compiles critical community support resources\u2014including hotline numbers, support groups, phone numbers, and nearby locations\u2014to ensure individuals in the Central Valley can quickly access help during times of need.<\/p>\n Inspired by her own personal experiences, Natalie created Community Support to help reduce the stigma around seeking assistance and to make life-saving information more accessible to members of her community. The app provides a user-friendly way for individuals to locate urgent and non-urgent resources in one centralized place.\u00a0<\/p>\n Natalie built the app using Java and completed most of the coding at home and at school. Through the process, she navigated technical challenges such as adapting the app\u2019s design across different devices and debugging code, gaining a deeper appreciation for the complexity and time required to develop a fully functional application.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNatalie\u2019s app demonstrates how technology can be used to strengthen communities and support those who may be experiencing difficult moments,\u201d said Congressman Jim Costa. \u201cAs one of America\u2019s future leaders, Natalie has already shown creativity, persistence, and a strong commitment to service. I\u2019m proud to recognize her achievement and look forward to seeing what she accomplishes next.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI come from a family deeply involved in social services, which motivated me to continue helping others. I\u2019m very grateful for this opportunity and honored to have been chosen as this year\u2019s winner,\u201d said Natalie Bonilla. \u201cI was completely shocked and didn\u2019t expect it at all. My teacher encouraged me to apply, even though I had a lot of doubts. When I received the news, I was incredibly happy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n About the App\u00a0<\/p>\n Community Support <\/a>connects users directly to crisis hotlines and local support groups, allowing individuals to quickly find the assistance that best fits their situation. Natalie plans to expand the app in the future by adding additional resources, such as food and transportation services, and enhanced features to improve the user experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u202fCongressional App Challenge\u202f<\/a>is an annual competition sponsored by the Internet Education Foundation (IEF)<\/a> that encourages middle and high school students nationwide to explore coding and STEM fields by creating original apps. The challenge has reached students from diverse, rural, and underserved communities across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif.\u202f\u2014 Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) today announced\u202fNatalie Bonilla\u202fas the winner of the\u202f2025 Congressional App Challenge\u202ffor California\u2019s 21st…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-116974","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}