Teaching After April 16th Wiki

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Teaching After April 16th

Packages and Plants have arrived!

An email from Shawn Shumaker this afternoon...

[Everything has arrived.] The peace lilies are beautiful!!! The boxes arrived yesterday, and we are setting up one of our conference rooms with all the things that have come in for the student staff for next Mon and Tues. We are going to take pictures of it and staff as they come in and get their things, so I will be sending pics of all when we have them. Thank you all again, I can’t begin to tell you how much all this means to our staff – they work hard all the time, but this has been especially trying for them, and they get very little acknowledgement from the “outside” world. Be sure and thank the helpers that were involved in this also. God Bless & Keep You

When the photos arrive, I promise I'll post them right away!

The Care Package Document

Here is the link to the document that went in the boxes with the care packages. This was up-to-date as of Sunday night. A few new donors have already come in today...and we're sure a few more will come in throughout the next week or so. We'll do our best to add to the list, so all of our generous donors receive the acknowledgment they deserve.

Just in case you were wondering...

I just got back from FedEx (had to pick up the final shipping receipts)...we shipped about 322 pounds of stuff! So let's give another round of applause to FedEx for the free shipping! Woo hoo!

In Transit

The care packages were delivered to FedEx this morning at 9:30am. They will be shipped overnight and should arrive at Virginia Tech's Residence Life office some time Tuesday, April 24th. There were 25 boxes total, and each box contained a document with a short note, a list of the the notes and quotes sent by the donors, and a list of all of the donors. I'm trying to post a pdf of this document, but haven't figured out how to do that yet. Once I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Care Package Contents

Just in case you were wondering, each care package contained:

1 little box of cereal
1 bag of microwave popcorn
1 packet of oatmeal
1 granola bar
1 fruit snack
1 package of Pringles
1 package of cheese and crackers
1 packet of tissues
1 package of trail mix
1 Sharpie marker
1 stack of Post-It notes
1 medium size Tootsie Roll
1 lolly pop
1 piece of Dubble Bubble
5 little pieces of candy/gum/small lollies
1 packet of instant ice tea
and...in place of the bouncey balls (which smelled really bad, so we returned them)
2 fun stickers, 2 temporary tattoos, and 1 cheesy magic trick!

A special thanks to Mr. Joe Allen for figuring out how to arrange these things so they all fit perfectly in the bag. Joe's an architect, so he's really good with spatial relations!

Care Packages Assembled!

YAY! All of the care packages have been filled, tied with ribbon, and sorted into boxes by hall. What a great day it was! Thanks to Bri, Joe A., Maggie, DJ, Sarah, Heather, Raedeen, Joan, Joe S., Jay B., my better half, and of course, Miriam. It's been a long day, so I'm just going to let the photos speak for themselves...

Friday Night at Sam's Club

Our two favorite questions of the evening, as we strolled through Sam's Club with 3 carts overflowing with little boxes of cereal, Pringles, trail mix and bubble gum:

1) Stocking up the concession stands? and

2) Do you run a day care?

In fact, a couple ladies--who we must have run into in the store about 3 times--tracked us down in the parking lot and said "We just have to ask...what is all this for?" So we told them...and they were delighted. :)

And a big shout out to all of you who mailed your checks right away...thanks to your expeditiousness, we were able to pay for all the care package goodies with that money and not have to do the charge/reimburse thing. So, THANK YOU! That made the night even better!

My favorite purchase of the evening...300 bouncey balls! I told my better half that I wanted to dump them all down the stairwell and watch them go crazy. He said that wasn't my best idea. Oh well...they can't all be winners.

Nationwide Campus Responses

In addition to sending campus logos, some of you have forwarded information about how your campus is honoring Virginia Tech. For example, here is a screenshot of St. Louis University's homepage from today:

To read more about the services at SLU, visit their website and check for various additional links.

The University of Virginia also had a tribute page...

I'm sure there are many more...if you see pages such as these, please send them our way. We'll set up links for homepages, articles...whatever else you find.

Let's Get Packing!

Sorry that it's taken me this long to get the plans for assembling the care packages out to you. Whew - there's a lot going on around here!

Friday night, Miriam and I will head to Sam's Club and Target to amass goodies for the care packages. We will strive to be generous, yet fiscally responsible. :) We're going to keep the shopping crew small because, well, you know how it is at Sam's Club..."Oooh, 20 gallons of mayonnaise...let's get that! Oooh, frozen mini quiches...we need those!"

Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm, the packing will begin! We plan on doing the work in the cozy Ronning MacBride apartment in St. Paul, MN. If you plan on joining us, please email me and let me know that you'll be coming over...I'll give you directions. Our humble abode isn't real big, so if you're claustrophobic, this might not be your cup of tea. We've already had quite a few local folks volunteer, so for those of you who live 2-3 hours away (or more), don't worry about making the trek...we'll be just fine...and you'll all be with us in spirit. Of course, if you want to come, then come...I'm not stoppin' ya...I'm just saying that we're doing great in regard to number of volunteers. :)

Campus Logos: Part 1

As I've been on Facebook, I've seen some wonderful images combining a campus logo with that of VT. I'm posting a couple here. If you have more that you'd like to share, please send them to mailto:prosium@comcast.netmcast.net.

Gratitude: Part 2

Just a few more kind souls to mention...

Ms. Angela Schoettle of First National Bank of River Falls/Prescott in River Falls, WI
Ms. Schoettle set up an account for us and has waived all current and future fees. This allows us to deposit and withdraw funds as we need...and we don't even have to worry about minimum balances or paying extra for cashier's checks. Excellent!

Mr. Jason "Madison Jay" Best of Minneapolis, MN
Mr. Best spent much of yesterday morning calling a variety of flower shops in Blacksburg, VA (and the surrounding area), trying to find us the best deal on 10" Peace Lilies. He recommended D'Rose Flowers for their excellent customer service and willingness to help us out a bit. The order is in and the plants will be delivered next Wednesday, April 25.

Don't Froget to Wear Your Hokie Colors!

From an e-flier I received earlier:

Virginia Tech family members across the country have united to declare this Friday, April 20th, an "Orange and Maroon Effect" day to honor those killed in the tragic events on campus Monday, and to show support for Virginia Tech students, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and friends. "Orange and Maroon Effect" was born several years ago as an invitation to Tech fans to wear orange and maroon to Virginia Tech athletic events. We invite everyone from all over the country to be a part of the Virginia Tech family this Friday, to wear orange and maroon to support the families of those who were lost, and to support the school and community we all love so much.

Miscellany & Levity: Part 1

Okay, so I'm sure some of you--with your hawkish eyes--have figured out that we had some "Prosim/Prosium" typos. Please let me explain:

In our haste to get the blog started, we may not have quite noticed the properr splelling of somme of teh wurds. Whoops. We're really sorry about that. We mean no disrespect to Ut Prosim...we just aren't too current with our Latin lessons. We think we've corrected all the text in the blog, though the URL and email will continue to have misspellings. Sigh.

Anyway...

Hey, so have you ever wondered what 408 packages of fruit snacks look like?

Here you go...

What, Exactly, is a Hokie? and Other Things You Might Want to Know...

I'm going to go ahead and be real honest here...I don't know too much about Virginia Tech...or at least I didn't...but I'm learning. Although I consider myself a bit of a "college/university buff" (the way some people are "wine buffs" or "NASCAR enthusiasts"), I must admit that up until a couple days ago, I did not know the technical definition of a Hokie.

With all of the images we've been getting of the chaos and mourning, it's easy to forget that this is a vibrant, bustling university community...a place that students, faculty and staff love and cherish. So let's all take a minute and get to know Virginia Tech...

1) Virginia Tech was founded in 1872 as a land grant university. (I HEART LAND GRANTS!)

2) VT operates its own stone quarry, where they get all the distinctive limestone for their campus buildings. What is the stone called? Hokie Stone, of course!

3) Former Green Bay Packer, Antonio Freeman (for all you Wisconsinites), graduated from VT...so did the author Homer Hickam. Mr. Hickam wrote the book Rocket Boys, which was made into the movie October Sky. Check out all the other great alumni accomplishments...

4) VT has 6 regional campuses in the state of Virginia. These campuses provide research, outreach, graduate education and professional development. They also have 2 international campus centers...in Switzerland and the Dominican Republic.

5) Virginia Tech's school colors are Burnt Orange and Chicago Maroon.

6) The Duck Pond is a favorite campus spot. It was created in 1937.

7) The War Memorial Chapel has 8 pylons that rise up out of it. They symbolize brotherhood, honor, leadership, sacrifice, service, loyalty, duty and Ut Prosim.

8) The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets has a band called the "Highty-Tighties."

9) In the mid 1960s, students crafted their own cannon from Civil War-style plans. The cannon is called "Skipper."

10) Oh yeah, so what the heck's a Hokie? Is it a bird? A type of limestone? An agricultural or mechanical term? Yell HOORAY! and then click here.

For all this information and more, visit http://www.vt.edu/about/. Or try taking the Hokie Quiz and see how much more there is to learn!

Gratitude: Part 1

Not only are we receiving a substantial amount of financial support, we are also fortuante enough to have found some kind souls in the business community to help provide donations and services to bolster our efforts. Today's special thank you's go out to:

Mr. Pat Allen of the Jim Allen Packaging Co. in Chanute, KS
Mr. Allen sent us 300 bags and about 500 yards of curling ribbon for the care packages! He also included larger bags so we can cluster the care packages by hall...for easy distribution once the packages reach VT.

Ms. Linda Wandt of General Mills in Minneapolis, MN
Ms. Wandt helped secure donations of granola bars, fruit snacks and microwave popcorn for the care packages. Let's hear it for Fruit-by-the-Foot!



Ms. Lisa Daniel of FedEx in Memphis, TN
Ms. Daniel confirmed that FedEx would be happy to ship our care packages from St. Paul, MN to Blacksburg, VA free-of-charge. They will even be shipped express, so they'll arrive at VT in no time!

All three of these individuals were a delight to work with...returning phone calls and emails instantly...coming through with important contributions in a matter of hours, if not minutes.

Thank you Pat, Linda and Lisa!

Your Contributions in Action: Part 1

We've received an incredibly generous outpouring of support thus far. It is so heartwarming to watch the donations come in! I think we're going to be able to accomplish even more than we set out to...which is a really wonderful thing.

I've had conversations with many of you about what to do with the money, since it looks like we'll end up with more than we'll actually need for the care packages. The current plan seems to go something like this:

1) Care packages for the RAs and Hall Directors
2) Peace Lilies for the front desks of each of the residence halls on campus (see photo above right)
3) Monetary donation to the VT Department of Residence Life to be used for programming...or a scholarship...or whatever best meets their needs.

So there you have it! We appreciate your generosity... I think we're going to be able to do some pretty great things!

How It All Began...

This is the beginning of the original email...

Friends –

Monday was a lovely, sunny day in St. Paul, Minnesota…I wasn’t near a computer or a TV all day (thanks to a daunting statistics test and then a trip to the quilt store to steady my nerves)…you can only imagine the shock and sadness I experienced when coming home at 4:30pm to hear the stories about the horrific occurrences at Virginia Tech University. I’m sure you all experienced similar emotions…events like this seem impossible to comprehend. After I got through watching the news and reading various accounts on the internet, I felt overwhelmed…my heart was, and still is, just aching for that campus community.

Maybe it’s from all the time in student development…maybe it’s from too many higher education classes, but I found my mind racing…what is it like to be an administrator there today? To be the president? To be the campus security office? To be a faculty member? Mostly, I wondered what it was like to be a student on that campus…more specifically, what is it like to be an RA at Virginia Tech right now? Maybe it’s because my journey into the wonderful world of studying and working in academia started in residence life, but my heart really goes out to the RAs today. I know there are a ton of people struggling to make sense of this tragedy, and I know there are a ton of people striving to hold things together for the good of the entire campus…I salute all those people and wish there was something I could do for everyone…but I know that I can’t help everyone. So I guess my natural inclination is to do something for the RAs. Those students, in addition to dealing with their own grief and fear, will be spending the last few weeks of the semester helping others more than ever before. I guess I’m hoping there’s a little something that we can do to offer just a tiny bit of solace to those RAs.

I just want to help and I don’t really know what I can do…but I feel like we could do this…

Here’s the idea…trite and inconsequential as it may seem…little RA Care Packages. One for every RA and Hall Director in every residence hall at Virginia Tech. Imagine brown paper lunch sacks filled with microwave popcorn, granola bars, candy and such…tied with Hokie-colored ribbons (orange and maroon)…sent in boxes to each residence hall on the Virginia State campus.

The rest of the email has basically been broken down into other sections of the blog. We just wanted to share the rambling that got VT Prosim started...

FAQ

Q: What is the VT Prosim project?
A: VT Prosim is an grassroots effort to send care packages to resident assitants (RAs) at Virginia Tech to show support an encouragement during a very trying time.

Q: Where does the money go?
A: All funds will go toward purchase of care packages for the RAs. We're also looking into sending potted plants to the residence hall main desks. Any extra funds will go toward support of VT resident assitants.

Q: How can I help?
A: Read the "How Can I Help?" post.

Q: So why 300?
A: We contacted the VT residence life office, 300 will cover all of their staff members plus a few extra.

Q: Where does the name "VT Prosim" come from?
A: VT Prosim is a verbal contortion of VT's school motto "UT PROSIM" which in Latin means "That I May Serve". Written in the original Roman letters, "UT" would actually be written as "VT" and, well, that seems to suit our needs just fine.

Q: Is This Legit?
A: Absolutely. We want everyone helping with this effort to feel confident that the proceeds are going to exactly what we've stated--care packages for the RAs. Read our post, "Pay to the Order of..." on the main page/right column for more info.

Q: I got an email about this, was it really from you?
A: We're very concerned that this project is transparent, so that you know exactly where your money is going and for what purpose. Likewise, we don't want any of the original emails we sent to be used for dubious purposes. Not to be cyber-alarmists or anything, but in the interest of full disclosure, the original email came from Emily Ronning at the University of Minnesota and Miriam Huffman at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls--these are the only two people you should write a check to for the VT Prosim project. Also, please don't make a check out to "VT Prosim" because we won't be able to use it. Thank you! We hope this helps keep signals open and clear!

"How Can I Help?"

So far we've had an incredible response to the initial email that was sent out. Here are the essentials in helping the VT Prosim Project move forward:

1. Make a Donation, Quick!
Make a cash or check donation toward purchasing and shipping the care packages to VT resident assistants--but send it fast--classes at VT end on May 4th (according to their campus calendar). We're aiming to have the packages ready to send by Monday, April 23. Give what you are able, we are not asking for a minium (or maximum amount).

2. Send the Message On
Send this blog on to friends, other RAs/Housing/Student Development folks, etc. and ask if they’ll help us out with this little endeavor. Please don’t forward it to list-serves or staff mailing lists or anything like that…let’s keep this a personal, grassroots effort. We don’t want to be clogging the email inboxes of people we don’t know.

3. If You Can't Give Money, Give Us Your Time!
If you’re in or around the Twin Cities the weekend of April 20 - 21 we would LOVE some help shopping for the care package stuff and assembling the bags. If you’re available, please let me know and once we get all the details figured out, I’ll let you know how it’s all going to work…all hands on deck!

If you decide to contribute time, energy, enthusiasm, please contact us IMMEDIATELY: prosium@comcast.net

Be sure to include the following:

1. Your name and institutional affiliation/home town
2. Amount you’re sending via check (this helps for budgeting purposes)
3. Any comments/wishes you want to send along with the care packages to VT

We're going to write a little note to photocopy and put in all the bags…let us know if you have any messages that you want included. We're hoping that the spirit of that letter will be informed by the wonderful words of all of you!

Contact with VT's Residence Life Department

This morning I contacted the residence life department at VT. I wanted to make sure our efforts were okay with them. Sometimes it's good to make sure that what you think is "helpful" really is actually helpful. I also just wanted to give them a head's-up. With all they have going on, the last thing they need is a bunch of mysterious boxes showing up. Anyway, my conversation began with a wonderful administrative assistant (Shawn Shumaker) and culminated with this lovely email from Gail Kirby...VT's Interim Director of Residence Life. I just wanted to share her words with all of you:

Dear Emily-
I don't have the words to convey how meaningful your efforts are to me and my staff right now. At times like this, "6 degrees" is truly at work. I met with almost all of the student staff this evening and was able to convey with them the outpouring of support and care that we have been receiving on their behalf. It was incredibly helpful to them. Please share my thanks with your colleagues and know that we appreciate you.

Warm regards,
Gail Kirby
Interim Director of Residence Life

Welcome!

Welcome to this first post of VT Prosim. This blog is to document efforts to show support and solidarity for the students at Virginia Tech who have suffered a terrible tragedy. Our hope is to send 300 small care packages to the resident assistants (RAs) at VT. RAs are the first line of support for students who live on campus, and we'd like to boost their spirits since they have to be strong not just for themselves, but also for entire residence halls of students.

For those of you wondering, VT Prosim is a verbal contortion of VT's school motto "UT PROSIM" which in Latin means "That I May Serve". Written in the original Roman letters, "UT" would actually be written as "VT" and, well, that seems to suit our needs just fine.