I've committed to writing 8 NFTT diaries and I thought you all would like to see what we did at NFTT 08 via photos and the first-hand experience of one who was in on the project from Day One. That would be me. And many others but, hey, it's my diary!
I'm not naming any names here, but if you'd like to identify yourself, feel free to do so in the comments.
These photos are courtesy of snorfbat and an album Roses compiled from many photos submitted to her. If you've got pictures to share, post them!
I'll be posting photo diaries every Monday at 10:30 am EDT.
Staging area at Rose's home
Photos 1 and 2
Roses graciously offered to have her home be the ship-to location for all the donations last year. She had an entire bedroom full of labeled boxes. These must be from early in the game because when we got to her house to pick up everything, the room was jam-packed.
Roses had rented a panel van to transport everything to the convention center. Several of us, Floja Rojo, anotherdemocrat, Sarahnity, me went to Rose's home and loaded the van. Thankfully, it all fit in one trip. Now who the heck is going to drive this behemoth van? One of the crew doesn't drive, one had her own car to get us to Rose's home and one of us has a fear of expressways. Sarahnity to save the day! She had actually driven one of these ginormous things in a past life! A giggle worthy moment is this little slip of a girl driving this giant van.
Arrival at the loading dock at the convention center
I so wish I had pictures of this!
Lulu57 stayed behind to round-up people to help unload the van and get everything to our booth in the convention center. BiPM was there as well as Common Sense Mainer, DarkSyde, Timroff, Dania, Bleeding Heart, Jlms_qkw, Punkin1976 and others I can't seem to remember. Damnit!. Trust it to Lulu57 to harangue people into getting something done!
Remember this is Austin. In July. With temperatures in the 100s. We now had to carry all this stuff from the loading area, UP a long ramp, up a freight elevator that all the other exhibitors were using and another couple of hundred yards to our booth. Did I tell you it was HOT? We're slogging along until our Knight in Shining Armor, Common Sense Mainer, somehow commandeers a huge cart for us to load everything onto. The picture of CSM, trying to hold back this huge cart from going DOWN the ramp so it doesn't crash into cars and trucks, is a memory that still gives me the giggles! So we loaded up the cart several times and got everything to the NFTT booth.
At the Booth
The gracious folks at Netroots Nation gave us a really great location for the booth. It was at the end of an aisle just as you walked in. You literally had to walk by the booth to get anywhere else in the Exhibitors Hall.
The NFTT booth proved to be a good gathering place for the volunteers to check in and keep in touch. We sold NFTT t-shirts there and collected some more donations. We also had a sample filled box on display. 2 Kossacks even set up their sewing machines to create Cool-Ties for the troops. Cool ties are a long fabric tube filled with water absorbing gel that you wet and put around your neck. It really helps in keeping our soldiers cooler in 110+ temperatures.
Photo 3, our booth.
Photo 4 and 5, making Cool Ties
Photo 6, Sample Box
What's going to be different in Pittsburgh
Austin was our first year in doing NFTT and boy, d1d we learn a LOT.
In Pittsburgh:
- The Pittsburgh CC is a union shop. We won't be able to use someone's home as a holding site. All donations will have to be sent to their designated warehousing site and getting the products to the CC will be handled by the CC. With our input of course.
- We will have a dedicated space for storing donations. Our booth won't be filled with cardboard boxes, bags, etc. I still foresee it as a meet-up place for volunteers.
- We will also have a MUCH larger space in which to fill and pack boxes. No more sitting on the floor or wondering 'where do I go next'?
- We'd really like to have the NFTT booth manned by volunteers while the Exhibitor Hall is open. We're working on that.
My next diary on the 15th is The Calm Before The Storm. It'll be posted around 10:30 am EDT next Monday. Keep an eye out for other NFTT diaries and please recommend them so this cause can get the greatest spotlight and generate many donations. I thank you all.
And I leave you with this. Our Calisthenics Instructor
Our goal for Netroots For The Troops 2009 is $50,000.00 (cash or in-kind donations).
PLEASE DONATE HERE
We realize that you would like to donate something tangible to go inside the packages that will be mailed to the troops. Unfortunately, accepting in-kind donations from individuals is not practical in terms of storage and handling of the items. The Pittsburgh Convention Center is a union shop so we have more stringent rules that need to be followed. Instead, we will only be accepting corporate donations or cash from YOU to purchase items for the care packages this year.
Here’s how YOU can help:
- Please contact Donnamarie or VeloVixen if you know someone who might be helpful in securing the corporate in-kind donations. To help you think of companies who could donate products, see below* for a list of potential items. Put your thinking caps on and let us hear from you. It takes time to get through the corporate processes so we need to hear from you ASAP!
- We are accepting cash from individuals and
beg ask that you DONATE HERE to contribute to this worthy cause. Your donation will enable us to purchase the things that we are unable to obtain through corporate donations, and will help to pay the costs of shipping them to our troops. This year your donations will be tax deductible, thanks to Netroots Nation and their partner Netroots Arts and Education Initiative, a California 501(c)3 corporation.
- Sign up for a diary! Our goal is to post two diaries per day until NN09. That’s a lot of diaries! Don’t worry---we’ve made it easy for you. We’ve got a template set up, and all you need to do is add a small introduction telling us why you are donating, sharing a story of someone you know who has served or is serving, or any other thing you want to share that might help motivate others to donate. Please contact politik if you are interested in posting a diary.
- Help us assemble the packages in Pittsburgh. It's fun! More information will be forthcoming for those of you who are going to be in Pittsburgh and would like to help there.
- Please consider joining the NFTT FaceBook Group. Invite your FaceBook and non-FaceBook friends.
*The following list contains some of the things we would like to include in the packages. Please let us know if you know someone who might be helpful in securing these corporate in-kind donations. (Please DO NOT send these items yourself! We have no way to accept them. Instead, your cash donation is the very best way to help make this happen on the ground in Pittsburgh.)
- Baby wipes
- Mechanic's gloves
- Language translation books or CDs (Rosetta Stone as an example)
- LED flashlights
- Gel shoe insoles
- Goop Cleaning Gel
- Powdered energy drinks
- Gel energy food packets
- DVDs and CDs
- More suggestions coming soon
Books for Soldiers
Soldiers love to receive books, but due once again to the logistics of collecting and storing them prior to NN09, books will not be included in the packages that NFTT will put together this year. Other organizations are more specialized in the collection and distribution of books to Iraq and Afghanistan. If you are interested in sending books, please consider checking out the Books for Soldiers Website. It is run by DKos's very own Stormbear and is a great resource for giving.
Important Note about Successful Online Donations
PLEASE DONATE HERE
When you make your online donation, the screen indicates that you are donating to Netroots Nation. This is the right screen! Rest assured all donations WILL go to NFTT. If you wish, feel free to use the comment area provided to note that your donation is intended for Netroots For The Troops. It isn’t necessary to do this however, as this is the only fundraising activity being conducted for Netroots Nation at this time.