5 Mentors (that’s HUGE!)

15 USB sticks

15 folders

13 packages of pencils (137 pencils)

12 packs of pens (186 pens)

9 packs of highlighters (49 highlighters)

8 boxes of paperclips (hundreds of paperclips)

5 binders & Trapper Keepers

4 packs of crayons (188 crayons)

4 packs of post-its

4 rulers

3 glue sticks

Interested in doing more? You can still sign up to become a mentor, or contact Philadelphia Futures for other volunteer opportunities. If time is money, well, they’ll take that too – make a cash donation; Tmoms has already started the ball rolling with an extremely generous financial contribution, just one more reason to love the Moms! What ever you do be sure to tell them we sent you (Philadelphia Futures <3 Geeks).

Pics or it didn’t happen. Check out the tag geekswhogive on Flickr for some of the most recent uploads from Geeks Who Give Events. Share the love: remember to share your photos with everyone by tagging them geekswhogive !

Stay tuned to Geeks Who Give for our next event by Getting Involved or better yet help planning it by joining the google group.

Join us for G2: Geeks Who Game Night at Tattooed Mom’s on Thursday, April 2, 2009. From board games to card games – we’re planning on having a wide selection; have a favorite? Bring it!

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Drink Specials from Tmoms:
$1.50 Pabst Blue Ribbon
$3.00 Yards Philly Pale
$3.00 Philadelphia Brewing Company Kenzinger
$3.00 Hamburgers or Vegan Burgers.

Admission: 1 jump drive or 1 package of school appropriate office supplies (pens, notebooks, highlighters, etc). This is a 21+ event.

Philadelphia Futures is a local nonprofit that has been the youth of Philadelphia teens realize their dreams of a higher education for more than 20 years.

We would love your support in getting the word out! Get Involved

• $1.50 Pabst Blue Ribbon
• $3.00 Yards Philly Pale
• $3.00 Philadelphia Brewing Company Kenzinger
• $3.00 Hamburgers or Vegan Burgers.

You Game? Follow us on Twitter for more updates or RSVP on the Face Book Event Page!

Put some skin in the game with a minimum of 1 jump drive or 1 package of school appropriate office supplies (pens, notebooks, highlighters, etc).

There will be drink specials and some old school pwnage! Stay tuned for more info…

Philadelphia Futures is a local nonprofit that has been doing something about this for more than 20 years. What Futures does is match one student with one mentor, beginning in their freshman year. The student/mentor relationship continues until that student graduates high school. Futures provides academic support in the form of tutoring, SAT prep, college visits, advanced course work, and more. Apply now. They need at least 60 new mentors for their incoming class.

For the guys out there, Futures is desperately in need of male mentors. 60% of the drop outs in Philly are young men and boys. And in a city where many of these boys don’t have positive male role models, you bring an extra benefit to their lives.

As Geeks Who Give, we are all working to ensure the community continues to grow; the success of this city is dependent on the future of Philadelphia which must include equal opportunity for all. Be on the look out for more information and upcoming events from Geeks Who Give and Philadelphia Futures.

by Stephen Winkler, passionate Philadelphia Futures mentor & advocate.

Originating in London in the fall of 2008, Twestival has since grown into a global effort to help raise money for Charity:Water; an organization which seeks to bring safe and clean drinking water to people in developing nations. On Thursday, February 12, 2009 160 cities across the world will be participating in tomorrow’s festivities (or twestivities, as the case may be).

The Philadelphia Twestival will be at the Get Happy Pub in Society Hill. Tickets are $10 for general admission; $25 gets you entry AND a chance to play your heart out in the Rock Band Tournament. There will be Drink Specials and some pretty Rockin’ Raffle prizes. Follow phltwestival for more info.

Organized by the “Concerned Library Workers of Drexel University”, the power house group behind the Save the Libraries Campaign – Bibliodiscotheque was a huge “Fund and Awareness-raising” success. By using Facebook, the community-driven organization was able to mobilize people quickly; as a result, National Mechanics was packed, and Philadelphia Weekly was there to watch the crowds “dancing for the libraries”. The event itself raised over $1,200 for the cause and through the use of social media it also continues to effectively spread awareness throughout the community.

Last week, Mayor Nutter announced that no Libraries would close before the end of the fiscal year (which is in July), and while the city remains optimistic, the struggle is far from over. Libraries are invaluable to our society, remaining as relevant today as ever, but their needs have changed along with those of the communities which they serve; acting as centers of knowledge, community, technology, and so much more. In 1935, German cultural theorist, Walter Benjamin produced “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” theories which he considered “useful for the formulation of revolutionary demands in the politics of art”. Today, the proliferation of information and the Google Generation create a new environment within which to consider the politics of information, and the revolutionary demands which they will require.

For those of you interested in joining the revolution, this Month’s Junto will be on Rethinking The Library. A discussion on the evolution of the modern day library, and it’s impact on our communities with Jim Pecora of the Free Library of Philadelphia as well as Maria Falgoust and Sarah Murphy of the Desk Set. The panel starts at 7, on Thursday, February 5^th, at P’unk Ave but feel free to come by around 6 for a beer and some of the best Tomato Pie in Philly! P’unk Avenue, 1168 E. Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147.

Three librarians and one geek will be spinning great music to the tune of saving the eleven branches of the Philadelphia Free Library that are slated to close due to Mayor Nutter’s budget cuts.

Like the libraries this event aims to save, this event is Free and Open to the public. however, if EVERYONE in the city gave $10, Philadelphia could save the Libraries; Unfortunately, not everyone gives. What would you give to save the Libraries; to save Philadelphia?

Help The Friends of the Free Library realize a solution to the closings that, in their words, does not target low income households, children, students of all ages, the elderly, and job seekers in communities where unemployment, poverty, and illiteracy and those living on the wrong side of the digital divide are among the nation’s highest.

This event has been organized by “Concerned Library Workers of Drexel University” a group of civic-minded librarians and library students interested in doing what we can to keep these libraries open. As a part of the Save the Libraries campaign.

To every geek out there: thank you.

127 people came out for the Philabundance Food Drive & Tweetup on December 9th 2008. The atmosphere at National Mechanics was festive, the specials were delicious, Fork You! was hilarious, and the raffle was a blast. While we had tons of fun, we also did some really good stuff. Together, Geeks Who Give (i.e. all of you) raised over 900 lbs of food for Philabundance. Geeks have also been giving monetary donations on the Philabundance website, in honor of Geeks Who Give. These numbers continue to grow, but hundreds of dollars have already been raised so far.

So, in light of all of that; thank you for you amazing generosity, your inspiring support, and your awesome ability to party. For Tweeting, Retweeting, Posting, Blogging, Ranting, Raving & Telling people you know (and people you don’t know, if you’re like us). Thank you for coming out to this event, and we hope to see you at upcoming events in 2009!

What’s next? You tell us! Get Involved.

photo credit: Vincent J. Brown