QuinnCo, Inc. » ubuntu-fl

A very special Thank You

michelle — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:23:12 +0000

I wanted to take a moment, to thank all of you who came out for the Florida Baptist Children’s Home build-day. We had a very, very successful day, and without all of you, our day would have been a colossal failure.

First, thanks to Dr. Pharr, for her wonderful babysitting services. She was, genuinely, the keystone for the day. Without her, I would not have been able to be at the build-day, let alone trying to coordinate.

The build-day is one that I will carry with me for the rest of my years. We may have others, but there will be nothing that will stay with me quite the way this one will. It took my breath away, to look up and see what must have amounted to 75 people, working away together, in rhythm and sync. Half of the attendees were residents of the children’s home, and I must say, I was incredibly proud of the way the adult participants took the kids under wing, and really mentored them through all of the stages of computer repair and installation. I was so proud to see everyone working together, doing their parts and pitching in. And, at the end of the day, our numbers proved how strong we functioned as a team. We processed a total of 47 computers.

There were moments, in all of this, that took my breath away. I watched a 17 year old boy teach an 11 year old girl how to take RAM out of a junk computer. I listened in as a young college man taught a group of teen girls about electrical circuits, and how computers read data as 1s and 0s. I received several squeeze hugs, and thank yous, from kids who were incredibly excited to know they would have a computer they could play with.

All in all, the day was an incredible success, and nothing I write here could adequately describe how thrilled I was, or how proud I am, to call all of the participants friends. Thank you, each and every one of you, for touching my heart, and helping us accomplish this goal. Maybe, hopefully, we managed to change a child’s life for the better. That’s all I can ask for.

Youth Build Day Pictures

admin — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:43:02 +0000

Too tired to write much tonight, but suffice it to say it was a very, very good day.

Pictures below the fold

Youth Build Day: August 15th

admin — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:16:50 +0000

We will be joining up with the Ubuntu Florida LoCo and Lakeland Linux Enthusiasts at the Lakeland campus of the Florida Baptist Children’s Home to build them a 6 seat computer lab, as well as installing 6 individual computers in their dormitory houses.

In addition to that, we will be teaching the teenagers there about computer repair and software installation, so bring any working, semi-working, or not-at-all-working computers you want to donate and we will get them fixed and installed for donation to other kids in the Central Florida area. Any donations of computers or parts is appreciated, and will benefit not only the Children’s Home kids in learning, but will also provide a working computer for another child in need, two great gifts with just one donation!

Location:
Florida Baptist Children’s Home:
1015 Sikes Blvd., Lakeland, FL 33815

Time:
10:00 am until we’re done.

A late lunch will be provided for anyone that attends and lends a hand, so please RSVP here to let us know how many people to cook for.

Come and be a part of the fun! Techies and non-techies are welcome, you don’t need to know anything at all about computers to be a part of something special in the lives of these kids.

More information about this event can be found on our Wiki.