the beacon bee

A Twist: Give One, Donate One

Now Extended through December 31st....

Just in time for the holidays, the nonprofit group, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a spin-off of MIT, launched the "Give One, Get One Program" on November 12th to kick-start the sales and distribution of its famed (and somewhat controversial) $100 laptop. Costing closer to $200 a laptop, OLPC is offering for a very limited time (until December 31st) the opportunity for U.S. customers to purchase one of the little green "XO" laptops and donate one to a child in the developing world for $399 plus shipping.

Designed for use by students in the developing world where electricity and telecommunications infrastructure are scarce, the laptop is scaled to that of a child and includes antennae to pick up wi-fi signals. The laptop features a sealed, rubberized keyboard making it resilient to water, dust, and dirt. It's durable, functional, and energy efficient. And it's green!

I've already donated and am anxiously awaiting my little green laptop. Alex & I are also planning to buy a few more in honor of our friends and family this year as our holiday gift to them. I plan to donate the laptops we receive to the BPS so that it could be used by students in the district.

Here's where the twist comes in: If you're thinking about donating and providing a laptop to a student abroad, please consider donating the laptop you receive to a student in the Boston Public Schools for a double whammy of charitable contributions.

I have been working tirelessly for the last few years in the BPS to provide equitable access to technology for Boston teachers and students. We're making phenomenal strides but we still have a way to go to ensuring that all Boston students have the technology skills, literacy, and knowledge they need to succeed in today's digital world.

Through your donation, we'll be able to put the laptops into the hands of teachers & students for instructional and classroom use. Please contact me if you are interested in donating to the BPS. It would be wonderful to receive enough laptops to provide a classroom set to a school (or schools!) This might be the only time the laptops are available to students in the U.S.!

For more information on the One Laptop Per Child initiative, visit:

http://www.laptopgiving.org

posted by Melissa Dodd @ 6:00 PM 0 comments

Goodbye fall...hello winter...

Boston experienced its first snow "storm" this weekend. Being from Buffalo, I can't come to terms with the fact that a few inches of snow could constitute a snow storm. With hopeful abandon though I did check the school closings on the off-chance that Boston schools closed for the day. Not seeing Boston's name in the long list of delays and closings did bring back childhood memories of getting up early the next morning after my dad and I did our traditional evening snow dance.

The arrival of snow makes me wonder where the fall went. It seems like just yesterday I was blogging good-bye to the summer. In the interest of time, and given the fact that I rarely have time these days to squeeze in 20 minutes of yoga or dinner with Alex, here's a summary of our fall:

• A to Columbus, OH to for a surprise celebration of our friend Mike's 30th birthday (during the Red Sox/Cleveland playoffs -- sorry Conor!)
• Weeks of late nights the Red Sox play-offs and World Series.
• Go Sox!!! They did it again!!!
• Hanging with Amina and not enough with Zia
• Kicking off book club
• JP Lantern festival
  
• Vegas baby! And the opportunity to reconnect with my childhood obsession with Phantom of the Opera
• Numerous trips to Trader Joe's
• A new haircut
  
• The turkey trot...in the rain this year
• Celebrating birthdays
  
• Thanksgiving in Buffalo with Hannah, family & friends
• La Nova pizza, with blue cheese of course (and wings for those who are carnivores)
• Many, many hours at work :)
• Catching up with friends
  

posted by Melissa Dodd @ 8:39 PM 0 comments

If you were a pair of glasses belonging to a woman who for some reason never puts her keys, T pass or glasses back in the same place, where would you be? Any thoughts?

posted by Melissa Dodd @ 8:37 PM 0 comments