The moderators asked that we start a new thread that they'll make "sticky" for this donations page for Kale and his calculators. Thanks much to the moderators and MAK for allowing us to do this!! :)
http://www.thefamilybus.net/kale/kale.htm
If you're new here, or haven't been following along, Craig (Gumpy) Shepard created a thread here on MAK (http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=1341.0) about a kid from Dixon, WY that entered a TI graphic calculator contest to try to win a calculator for himself and possibly his school. Even with many of us voting mutiple times, Kale could not crack the Top Ten vote-getters (many from large schools and cities) and win anything. :-[
But we wanted to send Kale and his school the calculators anyway! Craig will collect the donations and take care of the purchasing and sending of the calcs. Thanks, Craig! I understand that many of you have already donated to this worthy cause. And I also heard that some busnut rallies will be collecting $ and goods to send Kale and his school! Ain't busnuts a great bunch of folks?!
Feel free to send the page to friends and family that might not read the MAK board. There should be enough info on the page to allow someone to decide whether or not to donate to the cause.
Craig will keep track of our efforts here. Hopefully we can all make a BIG difference with our little donations for Kale and his school in this... Random Act of Kindness.
Brian B.
Brian, moderators, and all busnuts who have taken time to participate in this project through voting, contributions, and responses to the original thread:
Thank you all for helping to make this happen. As of this afternoon, I have $212.97 posted to the account from Paypal donations. I will update this thread as more donations come in. I'm expecting this to last about 4 weeks, and will then know how many calculators we'll be able to provide to Kale and the school. It looks like the TI-84 Silver Edition graphing calculators cost somewhere between $100 and $130 and I'll be looking for the best deals on them.
I'm planning to contact the principal and math teacher at the high school in Baggs today or tomorrow to let them know what's going on, and make sure we don't get equipment that's incompatible with anything they already use. I suspect that won't be a problem, though.
craig
Craig, I know you are having to work with and create various accounts so that you can transfer funds from Paypal into an easily accessable account...have you considered paying for the calculators with Paypal? Almost everyone accepts Paypal payments.
May save you a little pain.
Best, JR
Yeah, but that will depend on where I find the best deals on new calculators.
Maybe you already use this, Craig, but here's a Froogal search for the calc. http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=Texas+Instruments+TI-84+Silver+Plus&btnG=Search+Froogle
Good Luck Guy's,
You are Sticky Now....
Nick-
This is awesome.
We're up to $362.97. That's at least 4 calculators! I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of the members of this community.
I called the school today, but was unable to talk with either the principal or the math teacher. I'll call back tomorrow.
There's still a slight glitch in the paypal account. Because I had to set up a new one, it has to be verified to use the button Brian set up (go figure). So, they sent two small deposits to my bank account which I have to verify on their site, and they haven't shown up in my bank yet. So, it looks
like they will sit there till I can get the account fully verified and then "accept" them. It seems to only
happen on the one's sent by the button, and not the ones sent directly to the account.
I've also confirmed that the other address works, too. Not sure why it rejected the first payment.
So, if I reach the limit of one, I'll have Brian change the address to the other one.
Those who would like to contribute directly rather than through the button can use either craig or paypal at gumpydog.com as the email address.
craig
My experience with Paypal is that it take about 3 days for an E-deposit, and another day or so for the bank to post same.
JR
JR's right, it does take a few days to initiate the wires. Craig, I have two biz. accounts with Paypal. One for eBay auctions and one for the beer poster sales. If you'd like, I could set up the button to funnel Kale's $ to one of those until you get yours upgraded. And rather than incur more Paypal fees to transfer the Paypal cash back to your account, I could just snail mail you a check of the total donations.
Just a thought, and let me know what you think...
Brian
Hey Craig,
You may check with TI or the school district to find the best deal on the calcs. My mom was a school teacher for 47 years and I remember a ton of special deals she got through either the manufacturer, wholesaler or school district offers that saved her a ton of money (sometimes under wholesale) when buying things for her students. I don't know if this helps, but just a thought.
Keep up the great work,
BJW
Good point, BJW! I also have an educator discount since I homeschool (a virtual academy, really) our three kiddos. I dunno if I could scare up a discount on calcs with it, but would be happy to try. Usually a discounter like Amazon would be cheaper still than purchasing through TI with a modest discount, but I'll check into it.
bb
Since TI is doing the design promotion that started this GREAT IDEA, why not contact them & give them the chance to help? It may be that they want to support this type of helping schools. They may even help with getting some covers made!
YOU GUYS ARE COOL
'tis been a few days now with no posts on this thread... where are we at with all of this?
Cheers
Gary
Currently, there have been a total of $372.97 sent in (if my math hasn't failed me).
I'm expecting to keep this thread posted through October, and purchase calculators in early November to send. I haven't been able to make contact with the Principal yet. Our schedules were not symbotic last week. Hoping to do that this week.
I've not been successful finding someone who can put Kale's design on a calculator cover. Still looking.
craig
Craig, please do keep this going 'ti; after the end of Oct. as I'm planning to see about contributing some also, but right now I need to keep my $ worried on the bus bash! But as soon as the bash is over it won't have to worry anymore! LOL! I'll be in touch! BK ;D
Good Morning All,
I just thought I'd bring the Link that takes you yo the donation page for Kale
http://www.thefamilybus.net/kale/kale.htm
Oh, and lest anyone hollers, BUMP!
Quote from: Busted Knuckle on October 09, 2006, 09:02:27 PM
Craig, please do keep this going 'ti; after the end of Oct. as I'm planning to see about contributing some also, but right now I need to keep my $ worried on the bus bash! But as soon as the bash is over it won't have to worry anymore! LOL! I'll be in touch! BK ;D
OK. sounds fine to me. I think I'd like to make a loose plan to have the calculators purchased and delivered by Christmas, so if we wrap up the donations around the first or second week of November, we should be good.
As of this morning, we have collected $397.97.
I've responded to each and every donation that's come in, but just in case the mail hasn't been going through, I'd like to personally thank each and every busnut who has participated in this project, whether it was in voting for the design, donating money, buying stuff off the flea market table at the recent rally, setting up the web page with the donation information, or just helping keep the threads alive. It's all very much appreciated.
craig
OK, Paypal officially SUCKS!!
I've been trying to get the damn account verified because they won't let me accept the payments that are being sent through Brian's button.
I had registered my credit card with them, but they won't let me use that till I get my next statement a month from now and can enter a number that's on the transaction. That's useful.
So I tried to register my bank account. They do that by sending two random deposits to the account which you have to get from your bank and enter into their site. So after a bit of a fiasco with my bank because they changed all their ABA routing numbers and checking account numbers since the last time I used the account, I finally got the information entered last Friday. Today, I log into my bank register and find not two deposits, but 4 deposits. They're all dated for today.
Ok, we can figure this out. Maybe they did two separate deposit sets. So there are two pairs of depositis here.
So I go to the paypal account and enter the first two in their confirmation form. Denied. Ok, change one to the third deposit. Denied. Ok, change that one to the last one. Denied, and locked out. So I tried every combination with the first entry, and every one was invalid. Huh? How can that be. It has to be part of a pair of transactions, and there are only 4 deposits there. It has to be paired with one of the other 3!!
So I've sent a note to Paypal telling them how much their system sucks. Maybe they'll get it figured out. Maybe they won't. Last time I sent them an inquiry, I got a response from what appeared to be a non-english-speaking person who obviously didn't understand the problem, but offered a completely worthless solution.
Meanwhile, some of the funds are sitting in limbo. They keep telling me I have to accept them within a month, so I still have about 3 weeks to get this figured out.
On the plus side, Paypal just donated about 0.50 to Kale's Calculator Project :D
craig
Craig,
Have you talked directly with PayPal? I've had to call them directly on occasion where things were really messed up. Hahaha - imagine that!!
Anyways - Call -- at: 1-402-935-2050 (a U.S. telephone number)
Hope this helps, Phil
Thanks Phil. I'll give that a try.
Craig, I had a very bad experience with Paypal way back. I don't won't wouldn't couldn't and shouldn't use or even ever consider o use them ever again! I won't go into detail, on here as I ain't got enough time noe! But anyway when I send you my $ it will either by cash or a check! !!!!BK ;D
BK,
Either is fine with me. When you get ready, send me an email and I'll send my snail mail address.
craig
By the way, as of this morning, we have received a total of $417.09.
I finally got the account verified and the bank account added (after spending a wonderful half hour on the phone trying to talk to some semi-english-speaking person in a foreign land). I ended up having to upgrade the account to accept one of the donations. It turns out that you cannot receive transactions made by credit card unless you are a Premium or Business account and pay fees on it.
So the above balance is after the fees on that particular transaction (4.4%).
Depending on what I can find for the best deal, it looks like we're probably at 5 calculators (this total doesn't include my contribution); one for Kale, and 4 for the school.
craig
Come on Members,
If you can, Give a little! It's for a worthy cause....
http://www.thefamilybus.net/kale/kale.htm
Nick-
Ok, I talked to the principal at LSRV school today, Mr. Newton. He was surprised by the project, but got
excited about it after I explained what some of us nuts were doing. He was aware that Kale had entered the contest, but was not aware of the outcome.
He told me that they do currently use TI calculators there, and currently have TI-83 Plus units. He said he thinks the TI-84 is compatible, and that either would be fine for the school, and indicated that they use them in the science classes and junior high classes as well, so they can always use extras.
He also said that TI has a new model out (TI-89 ??) which he suggested we might consider getting for Kale. He indicated it's highly likely that Kale will pursue college education and a career in some technical field where he'll be able to make good use of it.
Now, I'm not really up on the various models of the TI calculators. I don't own one and have never used one. So, I need some input on which models we should be looking for from those of you who know this better than I. The contest was for a TI-84 Silver edition. It sounds like that or the TI-89 would be the best choice for Kale's calculator. Any thoughts?
Also, I've asked Mr. Newton to talk this over with his staff, and if there is something else the school needs other than calculators, to let us know and we can discuss it here. I just want to make sure whatever we buy is compatible with their needs.
craig
Craig,
Please keep in mind I DO NOT want to insult any one nor do I want to be disrespectful to any one but I wanted to share my feelings about your last post. I have followed this whole project loosely from the beginning and I did participate in the voting. I think what you have started is a GOOD thing. If I understood your last post you indicated possibly spending the donations on something other than the calculators. This seems to be almost an obsession without purpose. Please, again I do not mean any disrespect. A lot of people have given money to the cause and I think you should stick to the original goal. Again I think you are doing a great thing here.
Duane
Duane,
Certainly no offense taken. That's the kind of feedback I'm looking for. This is not MY project. It's OUR project. Your point is certainly valid and should be expressed.
The reason I mentioned this, is because someone else had suggested (either on one of the threads or possibly in an email) that maybe the school might already have plenty of calculators, in which case we could look at providing something similar that they might need.
My intent is, and has been, first and foremost to provide a calculator to Kale (TI-84 Silver has been the goal because that was the prize he was trying for, but is that the best one for his ongoing education?), and then use the remaining funds to provide calculators to the school for use in the classroom. However, since we were not certain in what state the schools needs were, there was a thought that if they already had enough calculators, would it be straying from the goal if we provided connection cables for them to connect into their PCs or overhead projectors, or other accessories they might need.
My main concern is that we make sure that whatever we do, it fits into the school's ongoing curricular needs. It would be a shame to donate something they can't use. Mr. Newton indicated that they currently have some TI-83 Plus calculators, and said they can always use more in the math and science classrooms, so that's fine with me. The TI-84 Plus Silvers are quite a few $$$ more than the TI-83 Plus, so should we stay with the original plan of buying TI-84 Plus Silver, or stay consistent with what they're currently using in the TI-83 Plus and maybe be able to provide one more for the same money?
These are the questions I'm looking for feedback on. Feel free to express your opinion, either here or in private email.
craig
My $0.02....
It sounds like Craig has the inside track to what the school needs, and I'm more than happy with donating my $ to that end. So with all due respect, I really wouldn't call purchasing items that the school needs as an "obsession without purpose." On the contrary, I would say that it would be providing a purpose to our original intent... getting Kale a nice graphing calulator to help his studies and providing the school with things to make them more successful in the math and sciences.
Now, thanks to the generosity of this Board's members, the main goal of getting Kale a calculator has been met with flying colors!! So we all now know that Kale will have the finest, most educational calculator TI makes. It sounds like that's the Titanium model, and it's just a few bucks more than the Silver in the contest. That's awesome.
IMHO, the "over and above" collected should go to purchase things that the schools needs... if it will help kids with math and sciences. If they don't need more calcs., I don't see how that will help the school to send them a bunch of new calcs. Or if they need something like 3 calcs. and then a bunch of assessories to make them readily available to the students (software, cables, etc.), great. There's nothing wrong, IMHO, to empower the school to make some choices regarding the donation we're sending their way. Who better to ask??
In our own community, we often collect canned goods and clothing for the local charities. Sometimes, we collect "too much of a good thing" and the items have to be donated to generate cash for other uses/ needs (paying for the charity's electricity, etc.). This peeves some folks that their donation didn't directly benefit the charity as intended. But they must not realize that their donation did help the charity... as long as they trust that the charity will do the right thing with the donations.
So I think it really comes down to this: I trust Craig and the school to do the right thing with the $.
Again, just my $0.02.
Brian B.
(Dang-it You guys, y'all posted too fast, but I ain't gonna retype what I had, I'm too slow & I don't type fast either.)
Hey Duane, I don't think you were being disrespectful, merely asking a question. So here is my take on all this;
My purpose in voting was to vote for what I believed to be the best skin. I believe the 'Global Solutions' skin is simply awesome & most appropriate for the contest. I like the idea of working with the school to maximize the benefit of the gracious donations that have been made. This will elevate our gift above the marketing department at Ti (who is trying to promote use of their calculator).
Original goal was to win the contest. When that didn't happen, Craig was smart & caring enough to modify the failed goal into a better result for Kale's school. If the school has a more pressing need than calculators, I'm all for it. And Craig said it is open for discussion before the $$$ is sent.
As I see it, this is to help Kale & his school. Not to increase sales of a particular model calculator.
While I commend Ti for the contest, they have some profit motives.
I have followed Craig's posting on the boards for years now & feel he is obsessive alright. Obsessive in good will, class, helping others, & his enthusiam for bus conversions.
I may not always agree with Craig, but he has my respect & trust.
Thanks Brian and Kyle for your kind words.
As of this morning, the donations total stands at $436.21.
craig
Hey all,
I pretty much agree with everything that is said here....... except.......
Lets keep it educationally focused.
We don't need more footballs, or basketballs, we need education that starts with the 3 R's and ends with the classics of english, language, math, algebra, english, geometery, SPELLING!!!!!!!!, reading, DISCIPLINE etc.
I am submitting my apology now, but I truley believe in corporal punishment.
"Spare the rod and spoil the child"
I do not advocate beatings, (I had those), but a little applied belt or hairbrush or paddle seems to make a lot of difference.
Quote from: Dallas on October 12, 2006, 08:34:35 AM
Lets keep it educationally focused.
We don't need more footballs, or basketballs, we need education that starts with the 3 R's and ends with the classics of english, language, math, algebra, english, geometery, SPELLING!!!!!!!!, reading, DISCIPLINE etc.
I'm sorry. I thought that was a given ;)
Ok, I've had very little feedback on whether we should get Kale a TI-84 Plus Silver or a TI-89 Titanium.
Anyone have a strong opinion here?
Here's the TI-89 - http://education.ti.com/educationportal/sites/US/productDetail/us_ti89ti.html?bid=1
Here's the TI-84 - http://education.ti.com/educationportal/sites/US/productDetail/us_ti84pse.html?bid=1
I can't tell it the TI-89 is compatible with the TI-83 Plus that the school already has. The TI-84 Plus Silver is fully compatible.
I'm wondering if we should get something that's compatible with the high school calculators, or focus on college and professional
usage. This is certainly something he could use well into his professional career.
Quote from: gumpy on October 13, 2006, 07:17:33 AM
Ok, I've had very little feedback on whether we should get Kale a TI-84 Plus Silver or a TI-89 Titanium.
Anyone have a strong opinion here?
Here's the TI-89 - http://education.ti.com/educationportal/sites/US/productDetail/us_ti89ti.html?bid=1
Here's the TI-84 - http://education.ti.com/educationportal/sites/US/productDetail/us_ti84pse.html?bid=1
I can't tell it the TI-89 is compatible with the TI-83 Plus that the school already has. The TI-84 Plus Silver is fully compatible.
I'm wondering if we should get something that's compatible with the high school calculators, or focus on college and professional
usage. This is certainly something he could use well into his professional career.
Craig,
Why not set up a short poll to gather opinions and preferences?
If you would like, one of the moderators could do it for you. Just be sure the questions are fair and representative of what you are asking.
My personal opinion is for the 84 as it will be the one most often used. the 89 doesn't seem to be backwards compatible.
Dallas
It doesn't matter how fancy the calculator is if you don't know how to use all the functions. I'd lean towards the compatable one so he will be able to get more experience with it in high school before really needing it later at some university.
Craig, I dunno if you've seen this, but here's a nice matrix of the various calcs TI sells (http://www.84silver.com/get_what.php).
Looks like the Titanium has much more advanced functions, memory, graphing, etc.. BUT, doesn't seem to be compatible with the TI-83.
There's some nice reviews of the Titanium model here on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-TI-89-Titanium-Calculator/dp/B0001EMLZ2/sr=8-1/qid=1160759625/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2606388-5468718?ie=UTF8). I'm not a math whiz, so some of the reviews go WAY over my head... The Silver Plus reviews (http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-TI-84-Graphing-Calculator/dp/B0001EMM0Q/sr=1-1/qid=1160760223/ref=sr_1_1/104-2606388-5468718?ie=UTF8&s=electronics) tend to be a mixed bag (though most review sites are), but some reviewers mention that the model might have some "bells and whistles" that may not be necessary.
Maybe buy Kale the Titanium (should serve him well in college and beyond) and the school a few 84-Plus models. If compatibility is an issue, he could use the school's calc(s) at school, and the higher-end, more "future-proof" model at home. Of course, unless he's going to engineering school or something, maybe the Titanium is overkill.
Alternatively, buy him the Silver Plus model (since that's the contest design), and the Plus models for the school.
Decisions, decisions.... :o
bb
My thoughts would be to buy Kale the calculator that the school is using. Teacher may not allow any other units as no time for "personalizing" the use of other model graph calcs.
IMHO, for Kale, the Ti84 Plus (believe this was the original item?) is what I'd supply.
His college needs are unlikely to be met with this months latest technology. And future college may have their own preference in calculators. Universities really like consistancy..."consistancy:" as in units they sell.
That said, I have no problem with whatever Craig decides. :)
My dos centavos, JR
When I went to college, I bought a hewlett-packard 41CV (cost ~$175.00 then :o). It is RPN (no '=' key, instead it has an 'enter' key). With my dyslexia, it was great. I use it still today 25 years later. :)
Only a few of those were in use at the time & there was no standardization of calculators. The professors didn't care how you crunched the numbers, as long as you did the work. He will probably need a laptop at college more than a calculator anyway.
One spring break, we went to the cape to tour NASA. I remember the movie of the shuttle launch. The astronauts had a 41CV on the shuttle dash & were using it during flight. For the time it was released, it was one hell of a calculator. Still is! ;D
OK, OK, back to my point. I don't think it really matters what calculator he gets as long as it's a good one & he can use it now in school.
Welll, you guys have pretty much voiced every one of my thoughts, both for and against each model :D
Kyle, if you look back at the original thread, I talked about my math teacher. When I was in 7th grade, I bought a Sharp programmable scientific calculator for his classes. It could be programmed with up to 30 steps. I'm proud to say I still carry it with me every day. That's getting close to 30 years. It's had a rough life. I carried it in my shirt pocket all through high school and college (yes, I was a geek) and it hit the floor more times than I can count. I'm certain I'd still be using the original batteries, except that after about 15 years, it started malfunctioning, and I replaced the batteries. Didn't help. Turned out the screws holding the ribbon cable that connects the LCD were loose.
Never have used an RPN TI. Always seemed odd to me. But then again, some of the software I write these days seems odd to many others. 8)
Had a chance to talk to a family friend this weekend who just graduated from high school and has entered a technical program in college. He was very familiar with the TI-83/84 calculators and offered considerable information. While he had not used a TI-89, he indicated that it was his understanding that the thing does so much, that it is not allows for use on some of the college entrance exams, and many college professors will not allow it to be used on exams, whereas the TI-83/84 Plus series is widely accepted for use on entrance exams and class exams.
I think, in light of this, and the previous discussions regarding compatibility, that I'm leaning toward staying with the original plan which was the TI-84 Plus Silver edition for Kale. I think the TI-84 Plus would be a good choice for the school.
The donation total currently stands at $436.21.
I see the TI-84 Plus Silver for $109.95 here http://www.asenashop.com/ivn/pr-0/7165. Anyone know anything about this place? They also have the TI-84 Plus for $99.99.
Scratch that. I found a site that hosts consumer reviews, and they haven't faired well lately. I'll stick with the namebrand stores, even if it does cost a bit more. Maybe I'll stop by a couple on the way home one evening to see what they have in stock.
---- And then I found this place http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=softbyweb&query=ti-84 . Seems to have a good review score as shown here http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=12757393/search=ti+84+plus+silver+/ut=cf6d014949853975.
craig
Craig,
I was piddling around looking for low prices on the TI-84 and found it for 109.95 at Amazon with free shipping and no tax.
Oh, I also found out that there is a difference between the TI-84 Plus and the TI-84 Plus Silver. The Silver has more memory available.
It's too bad that the TI-89 isn't allowed as Sams Club has it for about $136.
Thanks Dallas, I hadn't checked Amazon. Will keep that in mind and watch it as we get closer to ordering. Maybe with school in session now, the prices will come down a bit. Better not wait till Christmas shopping season :D
Just an update. Donation total still stands at $436.21.
I expect to close this out around the weekend of Nov 4/5 and order calculators. Currently looks like 1 for Kale, 4 for the school.
Did anyone ever find somebody who can do silk screening on the covers?
craig
Gumpy & Spaceshipbuffalo....
I made a donation early on and promised to make another after all the profits I reaped at Dallas' rally....but that wasn't in the cards.
Dallas wouldn't spend any of Cats' hard earned money....so :-\
A friend had asked me to buy him a book on the E place...which I did...and the seller went south after I paid for the item. Hmmm. ???
Since I used PayPal there was a slight chance that I could re-coup what I thought was lost...so I entered a gripe! ;)
In a week or so, guess what? :D The money arrived back in my PayPal account! ;D
So, I've added the $19.99 (another oddball amount) to Calculator$ for Kale in the hope that it brings you to an amount that will do some good.
And I did so without asking for any personal recognition but didn't know another way of telling you that you have both done a great job, for which I and the other BusNuts, Thank You...and let's hope that there might be one more who wishes to make a contribution.
C'mon guys...let's pitch in here!
NCbob
NCbob,
Thank you for your continued support. The additional donation is much appreciated.
All,
We currently have collected $507.82. That's another calculator for the school!! That brings the number of calculators we
can purchase to 5 for the school, and one for Kale!
I intend to have the donation time go through next weekend, and order calculators the following week. If you would still like to donate to this project, please feel free. Each calculator costs around $100.
craig
Hi Craig,
I almost missed it! :) We've been on the road for awhile. We're in Alabama now. :D Is it cold there today? ;D 75 degrees here ;D ;D ;D
I sure do like this idea of yours. I don't really miss the small town school system that much, so maybe we can get Kale a good leg up. I don't know how much is in the acct. now, but I kicked in $50.
Good luck.
Devin
Quote from: Devin on November 02, 2006, 07:40:51 AM
I almost missed it! :) We've been on the road for awhile. We're in Alabama now. :D Is it cold there today? ;D 75 degrees here ;D ;D ;D
Yeah, rub it in! It warmed up to 29 degrees here this morning! Was 70 on Monday.
Quote
I sure do like this idea of yours. I don't really miss the small town school system that much, so maybe we can get Kale a good leg up. I don't know how much is in the acct. now, but I kicked in $50.
Seems to me that you, along with a few others, were the actual originators of this whole idea, so you can take the credit.
I did receive your donation, and responded. Thank you very much.
The account is now up to $556.07 after Paypal fees and before my contribution. I'm hoping to get a few more donations before Monday, and order calculators next week. If anyone still would like to donate, please do so soon. Right now, it looks like we can provide one calculator to Kale (planning on a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition) an six calculators (TI-84 Plus) to the school.
BTW, I received a donation from one family who lives in Baggs, so evidently the information got distributed to some of the local folks. I had hoped to get more, but I don't know how many folks there may have received the info.
Udate...
As of this evening, we've collected $604.32 in the account for calculators, and have a commitment of another $25 in the mail.
We're coming to the end of the donation period (am I starting to sound like a PBS fund drive announcer yet?)
craig
Hi Craig and Brian,
I hope this Thread worked out for your fund raising to bennifit kyle.
Let us know of any ways we can help in the future!
Nick-
Nick,
The thread has been great. Thank you, Mike, and all the moderator for allowing it to happen.
I also want to thank Brian Brown for his effort at putting together the paypal button and web page.
We have exceeded my expectations for this project, and I really appreciate the generosity of the
members of this community.
I will be ordering calculators soon. I haven't received all committed funds, yet, but I believe we
are at 629.32. My intention is to order a calculator for Kale, and 6 for the school, and my contribution
will make up the difference.
I'll continue to post updates as I go forward. We can probably remove the sticky from the thread, though.
craig
Craig, Had a bit left over from the Hawaii fund, so add a few more sheckles to the pot
Jim
Here's the latest update....
We received a total of $653.29 after Paypal fees and before my personal contribution.
I did a bit of searching, and found that TI offers a version of the TI-84 Plus calculator which is specifically for schools. It's called the EZ Spot Teacher pack which comes with guidebooks, unit-to-unit cables, batteries, a poster, a transparency, CD, etc. It also comes with a bright yellow cover, and has "School Property" inscribed on it. It's designed specifically for school use.
Normally, these come 10 to a pack, and run about $1100 - $1200 for a box. However, I found a place in Utah that was willing to give me a discount on the units, and will ship them for free! They quoted me $99.50 each for the EZ Spot TI-84 Plus, and $119.50 for the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition.
So, I made a command decision, an ordered 8 of the EZ Spot units, and 1 of the Silver Edition Units.
I'm going to have him ship them directly to the school. We never found any place that could put Kale's design on the covers, so there's really no reason to ship them here and then ship them again to the school. It'll probably take a couple weeks to get them there. I'm sending a personal check so they don't get hit with the credit card fees, since I'm pretty sure they aren't making any profit on this sale.
I'll also be putting together a note for the principal to read when he makes the presentation. If any of you have ideas on what we should say in it, please chime in or email your thoughts separately. I'd like to have a few individuals to collaborate with on that before sending it out. I expect it will be something along the lines of "A group of individuals of questionable sanity would like to honor Kale for his efforts in the TI design contest..." :D
I'll continue to update this thread as needed.
craig
Hi Craig,
How about get out now while you still can. No, just kidding.
Hey thanks for allowing me to be a part of this. i remember fondly those cold wyo mormings. i don't really miss em that much though.
I dont have much to offer on the note for Kyle, but you have given him a boost.
Thanks
Devin
Craig, I would change that part about questionable sanity to totally insane. LOL. Seriously, I would tell Kale that in our books, or bus group, he is a winner. He took time and effort to draw that picture to try to help himself and his school. That to me is a sign of a winner. If I am right, he did it without calling attention to himself. He seems to be a go getter and someone that truly hopes to better himself. As far as I, and apparently lots of other board members feel, that makes him makes him Number 1.
Thank you for all you did in getting this started and for following through to the end. Cat and Dallas
Amen to what Cat said.
Kale is a winner!
Thanks Craig & fellow bus nuts.
Ok, here's the final update on this fun project....
On Wednesday, Nov. 29, eight TI-84 Plus and one TI-84 Plus Silver Edition graphing calculators arrived at the Little Snake River Valley High School.
Below is the message I sent to the principal, and his response follows.
I just want to send out a big Thank You to everyone who participated in this project whether by posting, voting, or contributing. It's been a lot of fun, and I believe will benefit a great number of kids in the years to come.
=============
Mr. Newton,
If you haven't already, you should be receiving some calculators soon. Below is a simple writeup I put together as a guide for your presentation. Feel free to modify as you see fit. I've also attached a copy of Kale's design, and if possible, would like you to present it so everyone can see his work.
The members of our group would prefer to remain annonymous in this gift, but we definitely want Kale to receive the regognition he deserves for his efforts. We hope that this gift will help him throughout high school and into college.
Thank you for helping us with this.
Craig
====================================
A Random Act of Kindness
Earlier this summer, a message was posted on the Town of Baggs website which said that a student of LSRV had entered a design contest hosted by Texas Instruments. The grand prize would be a nice TI graphing calculator for the winner, and 20 calculators for his school. The message caught my eye, and being a former student who understands what it means to grow up in the Little Snake River Valley, it interested me enough to take a look at the contest.
In looking over the entries submitted by this student and the others in the contest, one thing stood out; the student from LSRV put a lot more effort into his entry than anybody else did. His image was drawn freehand, and the creative title, "Global Calculations", reflected on the whole concept.
There was one other thing that stood out. He didn't have a snowball's chance of winning. Not because his design wasn't good enough. It certainly had all the right stuff, but because the winner was to be determined by popular vote. Many of the competitors come from schools with populations larger than the entire Little Snake River Valley, and there was little chance this one student from LSRV could garner enough votes to keep him in the running.
So, I enlisted the help of some friends around the world, and we decided to try to do one simple random act of kindness by voting for this one student's entry. We tried to pull the votes in to keep him in the top ten where he would have a chance at the grand prize, because we believed if given the chance, his design could stand up on it's own merits, but in the end the big schools won out.
But these friends of mine are not just ordinary people. They are very special people, with varying backgrounds and education; varying careers and hobbies. They are people who take chances. They are people who know what it means to try; what it means to succeed; and what it means to fail. They are people with dreams and ambitions; people who, for whatever insane reason, are drawn to the dream of converting old Greyhound buses into a custom motorhomes. They are Busnuts!
Many of these people really took this contest to heart, and pulled votes from all their friends and relatives. After the contest ended, we decided that this young man deserved to be rewarded for his dreams and efforts, even if he didn't win the prize. And to that end, we would like to present Kale Harrison with a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition graphing calculator, and and in his honor, we would like to present eight TI-84 Plus graphing calculators to the Little Snake River Schools.
It is our hope that this small token will be received with the warmth in which it is offered, and that Kale and the LSRV Schools will put these tools to good use for the benefit of their respective futures.
Kale, as you travel through this life, be aware that the choices you make and the paths you choose may have a lasting effect on many people whom you may never meet.
Follow your dreams and do great things. We'll be watching.
=====================================
Dear Craig,
Thank you for all you have done for Kale and LSRVS. The calculators arrived yesterday all in good shape. We will have the opportunity to present Kale's to him in the week before Christmas as we will have assemblies with the entire student body; I think the elementary should be present for the presentation. I also, want to make sure his parents can be at the presentation. You and your friends have truly help benefit, not only Kale, but many students in the Valley through you thoughtfulness and generous donation. We all can learn a lesson from your giving back to a place you feel did so much for you. I know you want to remain anonymous so I can assure you that Kale will be very grateful as he is a thoughtful high achieving young man.
Rick Newton
Very, very nice, Craig. I'm very touched by what you had to say... and touched by the generosity of so many members of this Board. With all of the negative cr*p that falls on our doorsteps every day, it's so nice to have this positive, uplifting thing that we can be proud to be a part of.
I'm going to have my kids read your post as part of their school today. They've been asking about the calcs and the donations... so they'll be pleased to know what happened.
Thanks for your tireless work in making this happen, Craig. Thanks to all who donated and contributed to the thread. And thanks again to this Board for allowing the power of the Internet, coupled with good old "pass the bucket" generosity, to do something very kind, very direct... and very, very meaningful.
Awesome!
Brian B.
Thanks Craig for the update.
I sit here with tears in my eyes wishing there were more that I could do to make life in small towns easier for those growing up in them.
I also want to thank everyone who contributed to the fund even if just by moral support.
We have a pretty good bunch here, and on the other boards also. Like a family, we have our squabbles and tiffs, but all in all we are a FAMILY. Lets keep it that way.
And for all of those who have chosen to leave the family for whatever reason, Please, Please, reconsider. We miss you.
Anonymous, nobody told me we were going to be anonymous! I thought you were going to keep our identies secret. ;D
Craig,
Thanks for all your work on making this happen and your eloquent words.
Craig, and all others involved,
Thanks.
Devin
Well done Craig! Didja notice that the principle used "Christmas" to describe the upcoming Christmas holidays? That's pretty rare these confused days. There may be hope for some school systems!
Thanks for the work you put into this project! JR
Craig, I wanted to add my thanks to you for bringing Kale and his school to our attention. It is so wonderful to see a student that really tries. I work in a job where I interview people over the phone (they call us, we don't call you) and I am constantly amazed at the calliber of kids going into our work force. I had a boy that tried to convice me he was born in 1998 and when I repeatedly told him he could not have been, he then tried to convince me he was born in 1898. Then there was the female that lives in Baltimore Maryland but has never lived in the state of Maryland. DUH!! When I compare these people (no they aren't people with learning disabilities) with Kale and his desire to make something of himself and also to help his school in the process I want to cheer them on in every way possible. I am hoping that by what our bus family was able to do, we can encourage every child in that school to try even harder. They will see that even though Kale didn't win the big prize, he did something even better. He became a successful looser, which, is in its own way, becoming a winner. By our recognizing Kale, we are showing the entire school that there are people out there that care about them and that they can succeed at whatever they do. Thanks again for all the effort you put into this project of love. Times like this make me really, really proud to be a part of the busnut family. Cat
Just received this from the principal at LSRV.
-------------
Craig,
Just a short note to let you know that we had an assembly to recognize Kale and present the calculator to him. The entire student body and his parents were present while I read what you had written ( a very nice message I might add). The students gave him a standing ovation and the younger students gave him "high fives" on the way out of the gym. Kale is generally very shy but that day he was beaming; very grateful to the anonymous donor. On behave of LSRVS, I too, want to thank you and the Busnuts for your generosity. We will make good use of the calculators.
Rick Newton
Awesome, Craig! :) That made my day.
Thanks to Craig especially, and to everyone else here that helped make Kale's day (and week, month, year...). There's no doubt that we have impacted lives... with this Random Act of Kindness.
Brian B.
Amen, Brian.
Bob
Just a final update on this project. Here's a link to the Town of Baggs website with some school news on it. There's a photo towards the bottom of the page showing Kale receiving his calculator from the Principal.
http://www.townofbaggs.com/id80.htm (http://www.townofbaggs.com/id80.htm)
Craig,
That was pretty cool!
I'm glad we could be a part of the effort.
:'( (I'lm glad to see I'l not the only one that teared up!) :'(
Dallas
That's a happy ending! :D JR