Grazing Rites

Had another person take the $5 Challenge so the list of donors has been updated:
Kelsey M
Erica
Jon C
Klynton & Katryna C
Peter
Mindi
Keshia
Ognjen
Joanne
Dave
Macy

I will be out of town from November 5th to 11th so I may not be able to process any further matching/top-up contributions until November 12th.

The Vancouver Secondary Teachers’ Association has endorsed Alvin Singh for Vancouver School Board, more on that here:
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/reportcard/archive/2008/10/03/vancouver-teachers-vote-on-candidates-and-2010.aspx

Added one more name to the list, we’ve officially hit the half way point:
Kelsey M
Erica
Jon C
Klynton & Katryna C
Peter
Mindi
Keshia
Ognjen
Joanne
Dave

Unfortunately as I have now entered what I call grey mode the $5 challenge will not continue beyond my pledge to add $5 to the first 20 people who donate to Alvin’s campaign, post a comment on my blog, and send either Alvin or I a screenshot. So if you want to make your donation count even more with an extra $5 act now as there are only 10 spots remaining.
http://alvin2008.wordpress.com

Here’s a funny yet informative ad about another COPE candidate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rVMFASz-Hg

Added one more name to the list:
Kelsey M
Erica
Jon C
Klynton & Katryna C
Peter
Mindi
Keshia
Ognjen
Joanne

Donate $5 or more to Alvin Singh’s campaign, comment on my blog, and send either Alvin or myself a screen shot and I’ll throw in another $5. http://alvin2008.wordpress.com

Alvin’s campaign isn’t just helping create better schools, it’s keeping me from blogging about less interesting subjects like the flu, my son’s trip to the hospital, buses, people who hold up lines, and the minutiae of Vegas planning.

Adding one more name to the list, we’re almost at the half way point:
Kelsey M
Erica
Jon C
Klynton & Katryna C
Peter
Mindi
Keshia
Ognjen

How to become a hero of public schools: donate $5 or more to Alvin Singh’s campaign, comment on my blog, and send either Alvin or myself a screen shot and I’ll throw in another $5. The 8 people who’ve participated so far have picked my pockets for an additional $40 to Alvin’s campaign on top of the $79.22 I donated as soon as I could.
http://alvin2008.wordpress.com

Okay so my flu got quite a bit worse last night to the point where it has begun to affect my work in a serious way so I need to scale back my activities both political and otherwise until I get this thing under control. Now taping a few keys at my computer isn’t exactly a strain so the $5 challenge will continue but I don’t think I can be physically involved in the campaign or go to Fright Nights (sorry Burton) until I turn a corner on this flu.

One more donor added to the list today, 13 spots left:
Kelsey M
Erica
Jon C
Klynton & Katryna C
Peter
Mindi
Keshia

To keep the ball rolling and help us build momentum go to Alvin’s website, donate $5 or more, comment on my blog, send Alvin or myself a screenshot and I will donate another $5 and add your name to the proud donors list.
http://alvin2008.wordpress.com

Students First.
Schools For Everyone.

So it seems like we officially have an average of daily people cashing in on the $5 challenge, today we add 2 more names to list – just like we’ve done for the last 2 days:
Kelsey M
Erica
Jon C
Klynton & Katryna C
Peter
Mindi

So we’re about a third of the way there, 14 spots left! Get your donation of $5 or more in to Alvin’s campaign, then post on my blog, and send a screencap of your receipt to either Alvin or myself and I will toss in another $5. I’ve already paid out $30 in matching or top-up contributions thanks to the growing movement for seismic upgrades, course selection, representation, and transparency in Vancouver public schools. That’s on top of my original contribution of over $75. I’m very proud to be a part of this campaign, and you should be too:
http://alvin2008.wordpress.com

I just made two more matching contributions to Alvin Singh’s Vancouver School Board Campaign. So let’s update the Heroes of Better Public Education in Vancouver board:
Kelsey M
Erica
Jon C
Klynton & Katryna C

I’d particularly like to recognize my friend, road trip video costar, and periodic guest blogger Jon who doesn’t even live on the same land mass (he lives in Victoria) but nevertheless was moved to contribute.

Alvin recently expressed his thanks for everyone contributing in a comment on my blog and I just want to say a big thanks in return for him giving up his time and effort to ensure my child has a safer, better public education.

There are still 16 spots left on the Heroes board so go to http://alvin2008.wordpress.com and make a donation of $5 or more today, comment on my blog and send myself or Alvin a screenshot and I will throw in $5 of my own money to bump up that contribution.

And don’t forget to order a lawn sign!

I wasn’t sure how popular my $5 challenge would be when I first thought of it. Was it a crazy idea that people would just shake their heads at or would it become insanely popular and bankrupt me if I didn’t put a 20 person limit to start off? Reality, as per usual, has turned out to be somewhere in the middle.

So far I’ve had 2 people make claims on the $5 donation challenge. So first off I would like to thank our first heroes of better public education in Vancouver:
Kelsey M
Erica

I’ve just contributed my matching donation of $10 to Alvin Singh’s campaign for Vancouver School Board so I’m paid up for now.

There are 18 spots left so get your donation of $5 or more in, comment on my blog or e-mail me a screen shot of the receipt (blur out any personal information you don’t want to share) and I’ll throw in another $5.
http://alvin2008.wordpress.com

Alvin Singh has launched his website and ramped up his campaign for School Board Trustee in Vancouver.

I’ve already donated $79.22 to his campaign. No, that’s not my last penny – it’s just the balance of my PayPal account. I challenge anyone reading this to consider donating at least $5 to his campaign. Like Barack Obama’s campaign in the United States with online contributions a huge movement can begin with a small step. It’s a chance to own a part of this campaign and in the end part of your government. And you don’t have to live in Vancouver to contribute. If you know Alvin as I do you don’t even need to do any research or go to his website to know this is a noble cause. But for those of you who don’t know Alvin personally please take a moment to check out his website:

http://alvin2008.wordpress.com

And if you want to match or exceed my contribution by all means do so – and comment below! Be proud of being a part of this campaign.

In fact I will match any $5 donation that gets commented below – just e-mail me a screenshot of the receipt, redact any personal information you don’t wish to share, and I will match any $5 contribution. Or if you wish to give more I won’t match it as I have a family to support but I will throw in another $5.

So, if you donate $5 it will instantly become $10.

If you donate $50 it will instantly become $55.

I’ll get the tax breaks for my portions and only one match per person so no double-dipping on my offer (but don’t let that stop you from making multiple donations).

To make sure this doesn’t put me in the poor house the challenge will end once we’ve had 20 people complete the challenge. I’ll then take a deep breath and decide how to proceed.

Why am I doing this? Is it based solely on Alvin’s character? No, that’s not all. It’s not just that he’s been fighting to improve our schools for over 7 years. It’s not just the student lobby group he formed in 2001 that campaigned for seismic upgrades of all at-risk schools. Those are great reasons but here are three more:

First, let Alvin speak for himself. Here’s a brief excerpt from his first blog post on his website:
“Imagine a school board where meetings are cancelled so that motions cannot be discussed and passed. A school board that doesn’t release their key reports. A school board that refuses to advocate for students, and not even explain why. You don’t have to imagine, it’s been the reality for the past three years thanks to the NPA controlled board.”

Second, Alvin has spoken before about protecting diverse course selection.

Third, as a parent I know Alvin will fight tirelessly to ensure that our school receive the seismic upgrades they need. This is a pressing concern as these upgrades have in many cases not even begun since being first recommended 13 years ago! My son is several years away from entering the public school system and I want to know that once he’s of age he’ll be safe in his school.

Alvin wants to protect the physical and mental health of our children, I for one will sleep better once he’s given the opportunity to do so as well as give a voice to concerned parents.

Seismic Upgrades. Course Diversity. Representation. Transparency.

Today I finally broke down and joined Twitter.

Why?

All the better to follow Alvin Singh’s campaign for Vancouver School Board on:
http://twitter.com/alvinsingh

Seriously, I’m more excited about his campaign than the Federal Election and that’s not just because I already voted in advance polls.

Speaking of which, I recently checked with Alvin to see if we will be able to donate directly to his campaign specifically and if he plans to launch a website. The answer is yes to direct donation and he plans to set up a Blog so you better believe I’ll be plugging that sucker the second it’s up. Although he hasn’t finished his candidacy forms yet so that may be a bit of a way off.

I just received some very exciting news for me personally, politically, and as a parent. Alvin Singh, a former employee of mine whom I have always had great respect for and seen limitless potential in has decided to run for public office.

Personally, I’m delighted to see someone I know get into the game.

Politically, I’m excited about voting in the municipal election for the first time.

As a parent, I’m relieved that my child’s physical and mental well being could have such a strong and qualified advocate.

I’ll probably be posting about his candidacy again and in greater detail but for now check out the announcement here:
http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=83a082c1-df19-4c43-9014-2e37afd948a8

And join the facebook group here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37891244934