The ask

Blog tres, "The Ask"

Randy Pausch in the last lecture says, "just ask" because we don't lose anything by asking. (***remember, "lives of service depend on lives of support")

A number of friends and family members have all been so generous with their small donations. I am not soliciting support from those who have already donated to my small fundraisers so far. You rock my socks. I am soliciting money from those who have been holding back, who have so obviously wanted to help me out, but have been waiting for the perfect opportunity. Here it is!

I am soliciting money for this great USB stick that would allow me to use the Internet in my home! It's surprisingly cheap, however my income does not allow me to pay for it all by myself. Here's what we should do, I will pay half (because let's face it, I am so looking forward to all the skyping opportunities I will now have) and you pay for the other half which I will use to teach basic Internet classes. It's win win.

Often the artisans in my community ask me to send emails on their behalf. I would love to teach them how to use a g mail account, email documents, and photos. I recently visited a friends site and his counterpart was so casually checking his email, it made me so jealous. It's very possible to teach basic Internet skills, and it would be incredible to bring the internet to the artisans in my community.

The actually cost of the USB is 37 dollars plus tax, the compatible phone is 20 dollars with the Claro chip, and 15 additional dollars for phone cards with data. The grand total comes to 72 dollars. Anyone that is willing to help, please email me at sesquib2@gmail.com

For the last couple weeks, I have been doing the run around in search of resources. I was soliciting funds today for a field trip in July to a recycling center and you should see the stack of paper work I have to fill out. Although panama has a number of agencies with money and resources, the amount of red tape is a little overwhelming. I can see why volunteers get frustrated with agencies. The money I will be soliciting requires 2 months in order to process. Concrete sacks that I solicited two weeks ago will take another two months to process.

I visited the recycling center today and hope to create an agreement with them about transport in the near future. I feel kind of like I am applying for jobs. Running around, dressing nice, and calling to make sure they still know I am interested and committed to this recycling project. I really hope everything works out.

This is the the job, creating relationships with agencies and getting resources to our sites, and navigating the red tape.

One victory that I had this week was meeting with a local NGO that is dedicated to environmental education and recycling. Unfortunately they too are short on funding. They work with American started organizations like amigos de las Americas and sustainable harvest international. They deserve funding and it's unfortunate that they have to fight for it in a country that really needs their help. If anyone is untreated in making a donation to Oruga, I can make sure they receive the donation. We are in the struggle for environmental education together.

If anyone can help with funding for recycling, Internet, or Oruga I look forward to hearing from you. I need help. Thanks in advance. I am so lucky to have such supportive friends and family. Who knows where i would be without you? Special thanks to those that have already donated. Especially you Dad.