We're past The Halfway Point - We Could Use Your Help

Well, darn.

Sometimes we plan to do things based upon forecasts such as the weather. Being a stats guy, I banged all the numbers together and came out with a favorable time to begin our vehicle fund raiser.


Reglue was counting on  being farther along than we currently are... the halfway point of our effort. I crunched the numbers from our last three fund raisers and being a stats guy, I thought the timing and amount we need to raise was do-able given the variables. I must have forgotten something...left something out.

 We need a vehicle.

 The Ford Explorer we've been using since 2010 to deliver computers to disadvantaged kids is now a rolling public enemy number one hazard. It has over 300K miles on it. With the transmission next to scrap metal and an interior raining down powdered, and possibly toxic dust upon our passengers, we can no longer use it for Reglue service. This workhorse has too many miles to dump $3,000.00+ into expensive repairs. My luck dictates that upon paying for the transmission and headliner work, the engine would throw a rod through the engine block.

A month ago, I announced our Indiegogo fund raiser, in hope of raising at least $5,000.00 going toward a serviceable vehicle for Reglue. At the moment of writing, we are just under $2,000.00 from Indiegogo. With Paypal donations included, that number grows to just under $2,600.00.

The first 19 days of a 45 day fund raiser produces the most productive block of donation time. I'm beginning to get a bit nervous. So I want to clarify some things and maybe make this happen, one way or another.

There are thousands of people that read Blog of helios. I'm not sure if we've worn out our welcome or I just haven't tried hard enough, but clearly, I need to figure this out quickly. Maybe I am talking to the wrong people. A 16 dollar donation from 1/4 of our readers would put us well over our stated goal and we can get back to business. The business of supplying financially disadvantaged kids with the computer they need for school.

Some of you may know or have contact with someone who is capable of donating a vehicle. I would most certainly fly to any reasonable destination, complete the transaction, pick the vehicle up and drive back. And of course, we are a verified non profit so any donation, be it a vehicle or cash, is tax deductible. Our EIN and letter of IRS 501(c)(3) award is available upon legitimate request.

We are already beginning to get trickles of "computer for Christmas" requests. In past holiday seasons, we have averaged 6 installs a week.  I don't even have a reliable way of going to see these people and qualify them. So yeah...As of now, Reglue is pretty much at a standstill.

And just so you know...out of the past 7 years, there has only been 1 year that I did not deliver and set up a computer on Christmas Day.

And about buying a vehicle with credit. No, we can't. Our bylaws strictly state that we cannot incur any debt not fully paid within 60 days of the loan. Since we primarily rely upon your donations to operate, we are at the mercy of the calendar and strong vs. weak donation periods.

But speaking of holidays. With the holiday season approaching, we have some excellently priced "perks" offered in return for your donation dollars.  Some of these are $200.00 to $500.00 under market average for the release year of these laptops. Most of these would make a fantastic present for the holiday season.  You can see what we offer here. If you are a Mac or Samsung fan, you have most certainly come to the right place.

As far as the vehicle goes, we're not looking for anything luxurious. What we need is something along the build and size of a small Ford Transit van. Even a good-sized minivan would suit our needs. Something that is decent on gas mileage and will last us at least the next 3 years. I always felt bad while driving that Explorer all over Texas doing our work. The best mileage we ever got was around 17MPG. That bothered me. But hey...we work with what we have and deal with it.

And no...if we don't get enough money for a vehicle, it will not trigger the Big Rip sequence, shredding the universe
from the sub-atomic level. The Universe will continue to accelerate at unimaginable speeds. Stocks will be traded, we will go to work, come home, we'll watch the world burn from our living room easy chairs on the 6 O'clock news, and create even more ways to stay sane, working from day to day. We will raise our kids, mow our lawns and watch the calendar days go by.

Reglue will do its best to do the job we promised you we would do. For a decade we put your money to work for those who had been passed by. Via your dollars, we put computers into these kid's homes. With your backing, Reglue built this computer and technology learning center In the memory of Bruno Knaapen. Reglue has established 11 of these computer centers in Central Texas. Several of them right here in Taylor. These Reglue Kids to your right are the generation that will set foot upon other worlds. They will drill through miles of ice on other planets and moons, searching for life under those frozen crusts. Life that may dwell deep in the seas of those worlds. They will find a cure for diabetes and make cancer an inconvenience instead of a death sentence. Maybe, just maybe, on their way to terraforming Mars; they will find a way to make RealPlayer not suck.

So...Here we are. We have 20-some days to get an additional 3K raised. Hopefully more. The more we raise, the better vehicle we can purchase. But that's in your hands now. And for those who have already helped us or will help us...thank you. Some of you have been jaw-droppingly generous and we appreciate you recognizing the importance of our efforts. And as always...

Thanks for helping us do what we do.

All-Righty Then..