Geeks Who Care

Seattle geek seeking a project helping the disabled.

2010-08-23T23:21:00.000-07:00

I thought I would take advantage of the lull in news for this site and post a notice that I am currently looking for a project in the Seattle area where I can assist in setting up home networks and automation for the disabled.

This is a relatively new direction for me, and I would be interested in hearing from others who would like to volunteer for, or who are currently working on such a project. Feel free to send me an email using the link in "About Geeks Who Care" section of the blog in the upper left corner.

You can also drop me a line if you are looking for some volunteer gigs in your area and would like a notice posted here.

Cheers ~ Jim Cox

Free pool of IT talent available in the Bay Area, CA

2010-07-07T23:01:00.000-07:00

Fellow Geeks Who Care member Liliana Melano posted the following on the group's discussion forum on Linkedin, and gave the OK to post it here on the blog. While the message is targeted to help the graduates find work, some of the graduates may be willing to do volunteer work to keep their skills set up to par while in search of a position, and just maybe an charitable or nor-profit organization may be willing to hire some of the graduates:

Hello IT pros,

This is to introduce you to a free pool of IT talent available in the Bay Area. We are The Stride Center (www.stridecenter.org) training adults for a new IT career. We graduate up to 150 folks twice a year. Right now we have graduates that are available. Our goal is that they go to work. We want to facilitate their connection to open positions. If you are looking for IT talent, let us know. Once we forward the candidates, you are free to work with them directly. We are not a staffing firm, but an anti-poverty organization trying to put people in jobs.

To find out more contact:
Liliana Melano
Student Relations Manager
The Stride Center
1212 Broadway St. Suite 400
Oakland, CA 94612
510.234.1300 ext 106
510.234.1330 (fax)
liliana@stridecenter.org
www.stridecenter.org

Free Geek Seattle, and other stuff.

2010-04-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to help promote Free Geek Seattle. Here is their URL:

http://www.freegeekseattle.org/

I definitely need to hook up with these guys and see what I can do to help.

I would also like to hear from other geeks anywhere in the world who want to help others. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any news, or if you want you can join the Geeks Who Care Group on Linkedin.com:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=1777992

Feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment if you have any questions, news, or thoughts about geek volunteerism.

Cheers ~ Jim

New link added: Abroaderview.org

2010-04-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

The following notice was posted on behalf of Oliver Ehlers of A Broader View. Their link and Twitter feed has been added to the side bar:

A Broaderv View Volunteers Corp: http://www.abroaderview.org

A Broader View Volunteers Corp - a great site for those searching for international volunteer educational and community aid projects.

Includes people needed in developing countries for teaching English, environmental work, health and sanitation, and more. Tax deductible to all our volunteers.

Thank you so much for your help and time.

Regards,
Oliver Ehlers
Volunteer Abroad
www.abroaderview.org
Toll Free: 866-423-3258
Phone: 1-215-780-1845
Fax: 1-215-887-0915
Facebook: abroaderview
Twitter: @abroaderview
Youtube: abroadervieworg

Geek assistance needed in San Francisco

2010-02-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

I recently received an email from a person in the San Francisco area who is on a limited budget and trying to upgrade their "very outdated" computer system.

They have enough funds to purchase a computer and printer, and would like some advice from a local geek as to how to make the best purchase with the funds they have, and possibly receive some assistance in setting up the new hardware and transferring data.

If there are any geeks in the San Francisco area who can offer some advice and guidance to a non-technical person regarding the purchase of a computer and a printer then please drop me a line or post a comment.

If you know of some local resources or very helpful computer stores in the San Francisco area you can mention those too.

I will follow up with more information shortly.

Cheers ~ Jim Cox

Geek Girls Network: Geeks With Heart - Haiti Response Fundraiser

2010-01-25T20:40:00.001-08:00

The Geek Girls Network along with Geeky Clean recently started a fundraiser to help with the Haiti relieve effort. Go here fore more details.

Voluntarism articles: Modest Needs, and Terry Work

2009-12-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

Two interesting articles caught my eye today.

The fist was this CNN article about ModestNeeds.Org which is an organization that helps people in need via small grants. The grants come from contributions from individuals, groups, and I believe corporations.

Check out the ModestNeeds site at: http://www.modestneeds.org/

The seconds article is about Terry Work in Hickman County Tennessee. Even though Terry is living on $670 a month disability, and her husband is unemployed due to a stroke, she is doing fantastic work helping others in Hickman County.

Read more about Terry in this article: Terry Work is a Tennessee county's helping hand

AARP: Create The Good site.

2009-12-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

If you are a geek, and happen to belong to or are considering joining the AARP, then you may be interested in the Create The Good site: http://createthegood.org/

I have yet to check the site out, but it looks interesting.

If you are already signed up for this site please feel free to post a comment. I will post more about the site once I have checked it out.

Cheers ~ Jim Cox

2009 Colas For The Cosmos Binocular Giveaway

2009-11-30T21:28:00.000-08:00

I hope nobody minds this short notice, but I just posted an announcement for the 2009 Colas For The Cosmos Giveaway over at my Coudymidnights astronomy blog.

If you know of a child between 8 and 14 who has an interest in astronomy, but cannot afford their own astronomical equipment, then check out the post for details.

Cheers ~ Jim Cox

Free Geek Seattle

2009-09-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

I see that there is now a Free Geek group starting up in Seattle. Here is their URL:

http://www.freegeekseattle.org/

The group's site states that the group is group is currently a provisional start up, so if you are interested in the Free Geek philosophy and live in the Seattle area then now is the time to jump in and help get things going.

You can find their contact info here: http://www.freegeekseattle.org/contact/

Volunteer opportunity with KPS4Parents.

2009-08-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Posted on behalf of Anne M. Zachry / KPS4Parents:

KPS4Parents is seeking volunteers to serve on our Special Education eGovernment Advisory Committee. More information can be found at http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp437897.jsp. Specifically, we are looking for volunteers who have knowledge and understanding of very granular ERP/automated supply chain technologies who can help us formulate a model/design of what a successful eGovernment application would look like that would automate as much of the very heavily regulated special education process as possible, eliminating human error and the consequences of petty politicking common in large bureaucracies that end up negatively impacting the receipt of appropriate interventions by children with disabilities in our public schools. KPS4Parents is a non-profit organization (501(c)(3) pending) headquartered in Southern California, but committee participation is nationwide and we are developing a blog for committee members to use to make their contributions at their convenience at www.SpEdeGov.us. Committee volunteers would be given the opportunity to become compensated contractors to the implementation phase of the project should we be able to secure federal funding and/or grants to develop this technology. We’d appreciate it if you could post this information to your blog, including a link to our VolunteerMatch volunteer posting.

Kindest regards,

Anne M. Zachry - CEO/Exec Dir
KPS4Parents, Inc.
Phone: (805) 861-6607
Fax: (877) 536-5940
Email: azachry@kps4parents.org
Web: http://www.kps4parents.org

"Every child, regardless of disability, is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education."

"Making Special Education Actually Work"

Causes Exchange Blog added to the RSS feeds

2009-06-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Just a quick notice to let everyone know that I added the Causes Exchange Blog to the blog feeds.

It looks like a really good blog for those interesting in volunteering, so check it out.

By the way, I also want to once again let readers know that I am always looking for content for this blog, so go ahead and drop me a line if you are interested in volunteerism and contributing to this blog.

Cheers ~ Jim
PS: If you happen to have a profile on Linkedin please join the Geeks Who Care Group.

New links added - 04/26/09

2009-04-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

I received the following notice from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs – The Foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association:

Our summer manufacturing camp program sites might be in need of volunteers with computer expertise, as a part of each camp week revolves around teaching the students to use CAD programs to design the product they will make in camp. There are 19 camp sites around the U.S. as outlined in the list you’ll find at this link. Perhaps some members of your group might be skilled in CAD software and willing and able to offer their services if they live near one of the camp programs.

With the economy experiencing difficulty, it’s become harder to obtain donor support. We understand that everyone has some financial challenges and have tried to make it easier for folks who believe in our mission and projects to give us just a little support in a painless way – through their cell phone. This program makes it easy for people to make a small ($5) donation through text messaging. Information on the texting program is right on the home page of our web site.

Tom Hower sent in this this notice for Geeks & God:

Helping and encouraging Christian ministries to use technology more effectively in order to spread the Gospel in new and innovative ways. Of course their purpose is to assist churches and non-profits, but is open to all and has incredible information that is all free on Drupal(FREE) and Joomla(FREE) content management systems. This is a cool weekly POD Cast as well as a whole community of Drupal(Free) geeks.

Tom Hower
Serving Ministry through Technology
http://geeksandgod.com/

Added some new links and looking for more!

2009-04-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted to this blog, so I thought I would list all the links that I have recently added to the links list. I am still trying to find more sites to add to the links list, and I am still looking to find more people to come on board with this project.

If you have any suggestions, and/or would like to contribute to the project then feel free to drop me a line. You can find a link to my email address over in the "About Geeks Who Care" section. Well that's it for now, so check out the links below. Cheers ~ Jim Cox

Geekcorps: This looks like a fantastic organization to help geeks help others through innovative technology, and more.
Blacks Gone Geek Volunteer Opportunities: The title pretty much says it all, a list of volunteer opportunities for BlacksGoneGeek.org
Geeks for Good: 6 ways your net skills can change the world: Six great suggestions from www.charityguide.org
Volunteer Solutions: Just by entering your zip code you can either find volunteer opportunities, or recruit volunteers.
Free Geek | Twin Cities Open Circuit - Minneapolis/St. Paul: It looks like a Free Geek group is forming in the Twin Cities area according to this notice at Twin Cities Open Circuit.
FreeGeek.Org Wikipedia article: It was from this article that I found even more FreeGeek groups that I listed below.
Free Geek | Arkansas
Free Geek | Central Florida
Free Geek | Chicago IL
Free Geek | Columbus OH
Free Geek | Michiana
Free Geek | Providence RI
Free Geek | Tri-States

Geek volunteerism suggestions and ideas for 02/27/09

2009-02-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here are a few tidbits from the Geeks Who Care forum on Linkedin. Maybe these will be helpful for those geeks who are looking for a volunteer gig

Fan History Wiki is currently looking for some help with a few things that they want to accomplish.
Check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Cooperating Techs mailing list: https://falcon.eff.org/mailman/listinfo/effcooperatingtechs and sign up. "Much of what they announce is in the Bay Area, but they often have interesting tidbit. Sometimes they're looking for expert witnesses, but other times they have posts about wiring-a-school projects, etc."
Taproot Foundation is a organization of professionals who are doing pro bono work to help a local nonprofit increase its impact. Maybe they can use your help expertise :-)

The group is growing, and always looking for suggestions. If you are not on Linked, but have a idea or suggestion you would like to share with other geek volunteers then feel free to drop me a line via the email link in the "About" section to the left. Cheers! ~ Jim Cox

Volunteer opportunities at The Saul & Dayee G. Haas Foundation

2009-01-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

The Saul & Dayee G. Haas Foundation current has some great volunteer opportunities for Seattle area geeks.

Check out this site for more details:  The Saul & Dayee G. Haas Foundation - Volunteer

Guess what? There's a Geeks Who Care group on FaceBook!

2009-01-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

When I created both this blog and the Geeks Who Care Group on Linkedin a couple of days ago, I did so without even checking to see if someone else had started a group with the same name. Then the thought hit me like one of those "D'Oh!" moments, so I did a quick search to see if there was another group called Geeks Who Care, and sure enough there was one.

There happens to be group based in Australia on Facebook; Geeks Who Care | Facebook , and they also have a forum at Geeks Who Care - Tangler Discussion Forums.

After a brief exchange of emails I found that the Facebook group has been around for about a year, and they have basically the same goals as the Linkedin group and this blog, so hopefully the two groups can sync up and work together. At least that's my intent because I don't want this blog and the Linkedin group to be a one person show. I am hoping that eventually that other geeks will join either group and contribute, so that the groups will grow and geeks from all over can in turn help others.

Now speaking of contributing, I know that there are a lot more links and blogs to add to the sidebar, as well as news to post in the blog, but I only have so much free time to work on this project, so I would like to ask for help. If you have an interest in helping others and would like to become a co-contributor for this blog, please drop me an email, and I'll get you set up.

That's it for now. Hopefully I or someone new will post something more substantial next time. Cheers ! Jim

First post!

2009-01-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

I just started both this blog and the Geeks Who Care Group Linkedin.com group today, and there is still a lot to do, but I thought post a brief note about what this is all about.

I have been unemployed for some time now, and in that time I have see quite a few other people who are also unemployed and in need of tutoring or other help with computers and other technologies. I have tried to help where I can, but whenever I tried to reach out to an organization to offer my help, they didn't have anything for me.

I have a feeling I am not the only geek out there who wants to help others, so that is what I started this blog and the Linkedin.com group. Like the text on the sidebar says " If you have any suggestions, comments, and thoughts to share just leave a comment for now."

Cheers ~ Jim Cox

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