After several false starts, misunderstandings, a serious miscalculation my new project has begun!
So to recap, I'm not called to be a teacher. It's not in me but it's my new project right and I'm determined to change the way we do fundraisers and combine it with an educational course. Altogether the district invested just over ten thousand dollars into my vision.
We have 13 new Anycubic printers to pair with the 4 printers from last year and one casualty of the school year last year. A Kaya Cast vacuum pump, smelter, and a kiln on backorder. You guessed it! We are going to create our own fundraising things.
The students start learning 3d modeling software. We advance to the 3d printer stage, in The Foundry (my rebrand from the Fablab) where we learn to use the Kaya and how to vacuum cast our own medallions and such! We will be able to work with the teacher directly or administration or district directly and custom create any project they can come up with and market it.
Right now you have things like chocolate where you have kids that don't want to do it and hand it off to parents that dread it and bring it to angry coworkers that also might have to bring in their kid's fundraiser so they buy your kid's fundraiser.
Why not have a student create a coin for example, could be a special ring, athletic medals, etc. with the teacher/coach/administration wanting the fundraiser?
We can presale the coin, create that many to fulfill the orders, no wasted products, the kid gets a cut of the proceeds for the design, the school benefits on something that might cost us $2.00 at most to create if we make ten at a time. The fundraisee gets a brand new handmade by the fundraiser itself with 100% of the proceeds going directly back to the school. Make it a new tradition. Just one of at least a dozen ways off the top of my head we can use this for the school's and student's benefit! Eventually expand it to each of the other area schools.
I'm sure there will be red tape and such but that's the ultimate plan for my Foundry. I can also say this has been exhausting. It's drained me, physically and emotionally and I drag myself home every night and can barely move for a while. Then I don't want to think for a while longer. Some of these kids have some solid futures ahead and some, I'm worried about. Phones have eaten their brains in schools. They have to be banned, there's no other way around it.
Once the kiln arrives, at whatever future date that is, I'll get things organized and put where it's going to live! So things are out and not put up yet so a little chaotic there, kind of when you move and you're putting things around and organizing like that. It was all to be put together and tested before school started and you are up to date and we are several weeks into school with October next week and the breaks begin.
They believed in that plan and have been nothing but supportive during this whole building process and all of the setbacks and unforeseens. It's a challenge and it's my new project. I don't know where it'll lead to but I know the growing pains have been intense! And again, it's exhausting but in a better way and leading somewhere!
I just have nothing left after work, I mean nothing but when we get it completed and bug free, it'll be worth it!
