Blog
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A long overdue update (including notes from a meeting with the Zambian High Commissioner)
Hello all,
Firstly, sorry for the ridiculous length of time since the last update. You’ll be glad to know that all is still going well at LearnAsOne and that updates will be considerably more frequent from now on!
So what’s been happening?
Well three main things:
1) Developing the website (which is about 85% complete).
2) Gearing up for the first visit to Africa to select the first school.
3) Some small scale fundraising.I’ll briefly bring you up to speed.
Developing the website
The website is being developed so that you can donate to a specific community in need of a school.
Every school will get their own web page featuring a fundraising target, a shopping list of what they need and a way for you to donate. Plus a blog to provide regular feedback (video, written, photos etc.) so you can see exactly how your money is being spent. You will also be able to leave questions for the kids, teachers and community members to answer. Think of it as a cross between Facebook and JustGiving.
The new site is still in development but is now about 85% complete. Key screenshots can be found here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/7370765@N05/sets/72157603655096088. All the web development is being done on a voluntary basis by two amazing individuals, Ian Pearce and Bill Glover. This has resulted in a significant cost saving, which means that more of your money can go towards the first school. But on the flip side it means it’s taking longer than we initially hoped to get the new site live.
I can however tell you that the new site is shaping up really well and will be worth the wait! It’s currently restricted to the developers and a few testers. But as the development gets closer to completion we will be looking for more testers to provide feedback before the full launch. Look out for more details on how to become a tester appearing on this blog in the near future.
Selecting the first school
The most interesting and important part of this update of course surrounds the first school, which will be in Zambia.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending just over an hour in the company of the Zambian High Commissioner, Mr. Anderson Chibwa. I was able to introduce LearnAsOne, show him the current prototype for the new site and discuss the opportunities to work in Zambia. He offered to make a number of calls on our behalf, put us directly in touch with potential partners (local NGOs who specialise in education) and make introductions to other individuals in the media and at the Ministry of Education.
The next step will be to follow up on these contacts, and set up an exploratory trip to meet these people and identify our first NGO partner. And from there select the first community to work, establish their educational needs, set up their web page on the new site and get into full scale fundraising for the first school.
The one word of caution was the upcoming rainy season (Dec-April) which can make travel difficult. We are still looking into options for visiting during this period as it looks like this is when the initial funding will be sufficient to justify the trip and the new website will be up and running.
Again, you will be kept posted as to how things develop.
And a brief fundraising update
Despite a period of inactivity on the site, small scale fundraising has been continuing.
Dugald Wilson decided run the Edinburgh marathon in aid of LearnAsOne and raised £344 in the process. The New Bucks University Student Union continued their fine work from early in the year and sent through a cheque for £528. And our trustee Iain Gray raised £595 in sponsorship by completing l’Etape - the hardest stage of the Tour de France. There have been a number general donations too.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who has contributed their time and money over the past few months. It’s fantastic to see money coming in even before the first school project is up on the site.
Thanks everyone!
P.S. If you would like to take part in an event to raise money for LearnAsOne it’s simple to set-up a fundraising page. Just use this link and follow the simple instructions.
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LearnAsOne: Bucks Students’ Union International Rag Charity 2007/8
As many good things do, this blog post started off in a pub.
Back in October last year I was introduced to Steve Marsh, a friend of a friend, and a music industry management student at Bucks New University. Over a beer Steve expressed an interest in carrying out some fundraising for LearnAsOne and told me about a few gigs he had previously organised with his friend Leigh Gorman. Numbers were exchanged and Steve got to work.
About a week later I received an email from Michael Paxman at the Bucks Students’ Union asking if I was interested in submitting a proposal for LearnAsOne to become their International Rag Charity for 2007/8. Steve moves fast! Well, I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say I said yes, wrote the proposal and I’m sure you will be pleased to know that it was accepted.
A number of meetings followed and the initial plans made in the pub were fleshed out. They are still fairly fluid but it looks like there will be a number of fundraisers carried out over early 2008, ranging in scale from a cakes sale up to a proposed hypnotist night. Watch this space.
The first fundraiser actually took place just over a week ago. The University Ladies Hockey Team raising over £125 selling lollies (while dressed as lollies) at the ever popular Flirt! night on campus. Good work girls!
In addition, Michael informed me that the University runs both Web Development and Graphic Design courses. This could fit perfectly with phase II of the website, so a number of volunteering opportunities are in the process of being shared with the students. I am hopeful there will be some developments over the coming months.
So thanks to Steve and Leigh, the team at the Student’s Union and the Hockey girls for getting the show on the road. Here’s to a very successful 2008 RAG!
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RunAsOne: Thanks to all the runners and sponsors!
On very little sleep - due to a Rugby World Cup semi-final and 21st birthday celebrations - 5 pairs of runners took part in the inaugural RunAsOne last Sunday morning.
Chris and Wendy (pictured) led the way home closely followed by Nick, Russ, Marion, Chris, Rebecca, myself, Eileen and Geoff. A massive thank you to everyone who ran and to all the sponsors - you can see all the photos from the day on Flickr. To date over £500 has been raised towards the first school in Ethiopia!
The support around the course and from the Innovation Sports announcer was amazing. Thanks everybody.
We are currently looking into options for a bigger and improved RunAsOne next year. Please feel free to add ideas for themes, venues, timings etc in the comments and we will keep you posted on the plans via this blog.
Thanks again!