Tiny Tech Cafe of Kindness

I am an instructional technology resource teacher serving the students and teachers at Mechanicsville Elementary in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Our school is classified as Title I, meaning many of our students are from low-income households. We serve 640 students and have more than 40 educators on staff.

My goal this year is to create a warm, inviting environment for student and teacher learning. I am transforming our school's computer lab into a "Tiny Tech Cafe", similar to a Starbucks restaurant where everyone can find a comfortable place to sit, relax, share a conversation with someone else while being productive with technological tasks. Flexible seating is key!

I would also like to a have an area to create green-screen videos with students, so they can enhance their digital projects with background images from locations around the world. For more information on my rationale for this project, please click here  to read my blog post about the Tiny Tech Cafe.

I also have a heart for kindness. Any money raised that exceeds the cost of the items below will be used for random acts of kindness in our school and local community and documented on my Random Acts of Kindness blog: http://bit.ly/celebratekindness

I am hoping to purchase the following items for our Tiny Tech Cafe:

* educational books
* tall bookshelf - PURCHASED!
* free-standing lamp
* additional table and chairs
* futon style sofa
* white lights
* 5 x 7' carpet
* wood easel - DONATED!
* Command hooks (for hanging items on walls) - PURCHASED!
* shower curtain rod (to hang curtain from bookshelf to wall)
* fabric to make curtain beside bookshelf
* 30 Apple licenses for the DoInk Green Screen App (must be purchased through Apple's Volume Purchasing Plan)

Since I am invested in this project, I've used my own money to purchase the following items, which are ready to add to our lab:

* bar height table
* two bar height chairs
* green screen curtain
* two-shelf stand
* coffee maker 
* surge protector power strip
* two curtain valances
* two curtain rods
* 17 x 23" dry erase board
* wall-sized canvas 
* 10 x 10 canvas (with painted logo)
* two 11 x 14" framed photos
* burlap
* posters
* notecards
* coffee mugs
* coffee/tea/hot chocolate 
* condiments for coffee/tea
* spoons and napkins
* sugar canister 
* crystal bowl and mints
* broom/dustpan
* sanitizing wipes
* dishwashing supplies (to clean coffee mugs)
* dish towels and drying rack
* two current educational books for teachers to checkout

Ideally, the Tiny Tech Cafe would open in my birthday month which is right around the corner! I would love to have items in place for the first day of school which is Tuesday, September 6. This is also the birthday of my mother-in-law who passed away this past March, so a dedication plaque would be added to the Tiny Tech Cafe in her memory if this goal is reached.

Any amount you donate would be greatly appreciated - no amount is too small! All donations will be acknowledged in a future blog post on my Random Acts of Kindness blog. If you share on Twitter, include #GFMToSchool so other donors know this is to support a public school classroom! 

You have an opportunity to make our learning environment exceptional and earn rewards through different donation levels, too. Thank you for helping me transform learning in a positive way! Make sure to subscribe to updates so you can follow our progress as we transform our computer lab into the Tiny Tech Cafe!