We are now thirteen days into the Send a Newbie to NECC project. I am pleased to announce that thanks the amazing generosity of several dozen amazing educators on Twitter, we have raised enough money to get Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) to NECC and pay for his registration to attend the conference. We have reached the half way mark, but we still need to get donations to offset Richard’s housing and meal expenses. This will be my last call for help on this blog. I am asking one last time for you to donate just one dollar to help with this project. Over the last two weeks thousands of people have read about this project, but relatively few have stepped up to the plate. As a government teacher I cannot help but compare this to the low voter turnout that we see in this country. People have gotten excited about this project much like they do about elections, but when the time comes to cast their vote, they fail to show up. Lots of people think to themselves, “It is only one vote. What difference can it possibly make?” I am speculating here, but I think people are not donating $1 at a time because it seems like such an insignificant amount of money. The ultimate goal of this project is to show how powerful we can be when we work together as a group by raising $1 dollar at a time.

According to the spreadsheet approximately 36 people have dontated to this project which makes the average donation $21. I would like to see hundreds of people donate $1 to knock that average way down. This should not be a burden to any one person. The intent behind this project was to come together as a collective group and unite to reach a common goal. We CAN do this if we work together. Not only do we need your pledge of $1, but we need you to tell everyone you know about this project. Use to power of your PLN to spread the word. Blog about it. Tweet about it. Do whatever you can to help get the word out. I would like to be able to announce no later than April 22 that we have reached the goal, but I have to have your help to do that!

Donations for the Send a Newbie to NECC project have been steadily coming in.  As of late last night we were closing in on $600. In order for this project to work we need help from as many people as we can reach. Only you have the power to make this project successful.

Many people have expressed concern about donating money online through PayPal. We completely understand this concern. If you want to participate, but do not want to share your information online please mail your donations directly to:

Richard Byrne
54 Top Hill Road
Naples, ME 04055

Remember that your contribution will not only help send Richard to NECC, it is helping show everyone how powerful our network can be if we all work together to reach a common goal. Together we can send a very strong message to those who continue to question the value of networking and wonder if our ties are truly valuable. I hope you will join us!