Last year I made the leap and started working for myself. As part of this process, I decided it would be great to work with the kids at my local Elementary School (where my kids go) and help them to be excited about technology. The idea is to teach them Science, Technology, Engineering and Math working through practical projects. I presented my idea to my local Elementary School; however, the school does not have the funds in their annual budget to purchase the equipment needed. The suggestion was to run an after-school club with the PTA and parents paying for it. However, I believe that there is a better way to provide this without parents needing to spend really any money towards the equipment.
To help with this, I wanted to setup a GoFundMe looking for donations to help me raise the funds to purchase the equipment. The types of equipment I need to purchase are:
1. Computers for programming devices (most expensive)
2. Devices such as Raspberry PI’s and Arduino Boards
3. Connectors and Cables for the equipment
4. Add-on components for the devices, for electronics
5. General electronic equipment
6. Household items in bulk for building projects
7. Cases to store the equipment
I want to run this campaign for a while to see if I can get enough support and be able to run this after-school club. If this is successful, the plan is to move from an after-school club to a class during the school week to further encourage students. To use a quote from Albert Einstein “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks a real advance in science.” I genuinely believe that working with these young students to inspire them to work in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math will give them the encouragement they need to work in technology and hopefully benefit the rest of the world.
If you feel like you can help no matter of the amount then please donate to help me purchase the equipment for the students, and then run the after-school club.