October Nerd Night @ Knight Watch Games

October has been declared “Diaper Need Awareness Month” in the State of Texas, Bexar County, San Antonio
and Leon Valley. In Bexar County alone, nearly 40,000 babies lack the necessary diapers to stay clean, dry and
healthy. The Texas Diaper Bank needs your help to raise 1 million diapers for babies. Join the “One Million Diapers
for Babies” campaign during the month of October and help make a difference in the lives of babies born into
poverty and help make sure that they grow up healthy.
Shopping List:
Diapers Size 4
Diapers Size 5
Diapers Size 6
Adult Diapers Size L
Adult Diapers Size XL
Baby Wipes

October Nerd Night @ Knight Watch Games2016-10-06T00:04:51-06:00

June Nerd Night, Part One

I’m going to have to think of new ways to distinguish between Nerd Nights! Can’t just call them by their months anymore, with two events. What’s she taking about, you’re asking? Well, now you now have two opportunities to join us for gaming and supporting local charities. We’ll still have the second Friday events at Geeks Cafe. That’s not going anywhere. But now, with the grand opening of Knight Watch Games, we have a second space to play and a new day and time. Fourth Sundays, 2-10pm. Come on out and support a new local business, run by gamers, for gamers. I promise it’s going to be one of the most unique spaces you’ve ever played in. Brenda and Paraic have done an amazing job getting it ready to unveil. The grand opening celebration is this weekend, so stop by and say hello! Mark your calendar to join us next Sunday for Nerd Night Part Two.

Part One was a good time for a great cause! Sue Dodson from the Texas Burn Survivor Society came out and gave a short talk. She told us about some of the things they do to support burn survivors and their families.

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It was great to see so many of you out to game with us and pile up donations for the kids at Camp David! Let’s keep it going throughout the rest of the month of June.

Donations for Camp David

About half the donations collected for Camp David.

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Announcements

The donation page is down but I’m hoping to have it fixed this weekend. As we fully transition to  501(c)(3) status a lot of accounting things have needed to be updated. I’m glad to say we’ll soon have a full profile on Guidestar so that everyone can see where our money goes. Any donations to Nerd Night this month will go directly to paying for our Meetup subscription and would be very much appreciated.

T-shirts! At Sunday Nerd Night I will have signup sheets for those of you interested in a classy Nerd Night shirt. They’ll be $12 and proceeds will go to support our operating expenses, such as the Meetup, web hosting and printing costs.

Join us at Knight Watch Games on the 26th for another great event. Bring backpack-stuffing stuff for the Texas Burn Survivor Society and your own snacks and drinks. River Tree Bistro, a fabulous little restaurant in the same shopping center as Knight Watch, will be opening from 5-8pm to serve dinner.

June Nerd Night, Part One2016-11-25T10:59:33-06:00

May Event for Literacy

An update on our recent event from your special guest host, Keller! (Steph had tickets to The Cure, so you can excuse her for taking a night off).

We had another great night last Friday at Geeks Cafe, raising awareness and donations for Book Buddies, an initiative of San Antonio Youth Literacy. They provide books to kids who may not otherwise have a book for the summer.  We had about 40 people come for the games, and they brought over 400 books!

We also learned about the importance of children’s literacy from the Book Buddies volunteer Kathy McPherson. She shared some stats about how important literacy is, especially for elementary school kids that are the focus of their program. Reading is so important for kids to succeed in school, and many households have few, if any, books. Getting books into the hands of children is a good way to help them out.

Kathy also really had fun with the games, and we enjoyed welcoming new gamers to the event (Special thanks to Veronica for sharing Smash Up!)

We’re looking forward to our June events to benefit the Texas Burn Survivors Society’s Camp David for pediatric burn survivors.

Wait, did I say “events”?  Yes, we’re having a second event in June: in addition to our regular 2nd Friday event at Geeks Cafe on June 10th at 7 PM, we’re also having an event on June 26th from 2-10 PM at Knight Watch Games!  The afternoon time gives more time for games and is easier to bring the kids.

See you there!

 

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May Event for Literacy2016-11-25T10:59:33-06:00

May Nerd Night: Book Buddies

San Antonio Nerd Night Benefiting Book Buddies

May’s partner organization is Book Buddies, an initiative of San Antonio Youth Literacy. Book Buddies collects books suitable for kids in kindergarten through 5th grade and distributes them at the end of the school year in free book fairs at their Reading Buddy Schools.

Children choose books to take home to read over the summer, which helps prevent the “summer slide” — a regression in learning over summer vacation when they are not being actively taught. Studies also show that children who grow up in homes without books, and who are not read to as children, are far more likely to fall behind in school, fail to complete high school, and suffer the unfortunate outcomes associated with failure: drug use, criminal behavior, early pregnancy, etc.

San Antonio Youth Literacy developed Book Buddies as an offshoot of their Reading Buddy program, which exists in San Antonio Title 1 schools where at least 75% of the families are below the poverty line. Children at these schools attend the free book fairs at the end of the school year and take the books home and keep them as their own. They can read them over the summer, share them with family and friends, or even their parents. In many cases these donated books are the only books in the home. An added benefit is that children in more advantaged homes learn to share their no longer needed books with another child. Everybody wins!

May Nerd Night is holding a book drive to collect books for this year’s fairs. Bring your new or gently used books to Geeks Café on May 13th!

Types of Books Needed

Picture Books (Example: Where the Wild Things Are)
I Can Read series
Children’s chapter books
Any book appropriate up to a 6th grade level

Amazon Shopping Suggestions 

books

May Nerd Night: Book Buddies2016-11-25T10:59:40-06:00

Charity Spotlight: San Antonio AIDS Foundation

About The San Antonio AIDS Foundation

The San Antonio AIDS Foundation was founded in 1986 by Papa Bear, aka Robert Edwards, to respond to the medical and social crisis of AIDS in the 1980s at a time when many were afraid and there was little assistance for people who were sick. SAAF’s mission is to provide compassionate medical care and social services to people with HIV/AIDS, and to help prevent the spread of HIV through education, counseling and testing.

SAAF began in the back of a bar with an all-volunteer-staffed hospice and seven clients, and has grown into a multi-service agency reaching thousands of individuals every year with healthcare, support services and prevention education outreach. All the services provided are free, with a requested sliding scale donation for those who can pay.

SAAF is the only organization in Texas that offers residential HIV/AIDS special care/hospice facilities and is the largest licensed HIV/AIDS special care facility in the state. They also operate Carson House, a 20-bed transitional housing facility for HIV-positive homeless individuals, and the only mobile HIV-testing unit in Bexar County.

Some of the services SAAF offers are:

  • Testing and Education
  • Special Care Facility and Hospice Care
  • Case Management
  • Hot Meal Program
  • Short-Term Transitional Housing
  • Dental Assistance

San Antonio Nerd Night will be partnering with SAAF this month to collect items to support the needs of their in-house and transitional housing clients. Please join us as we help SAAF further their mission of compassionate care for all those with HIV/AIDS without discrimination on any basis. Nerd Night is Friday, April 8th, and needed items are:

Men’s Boxer Underwear (M/L)
Men’s Slippers
Men’s T-Shirts (M/L)
Men’s Socks
Men’s Flip Flops (11-13)
Women’s Flip Flops (S/M/L)
Men’s and Women’s Deodorant
Furniture (primarily Dressers/Nightstands)
Used DVDs
Dish Soap
Cleaning Sponges
Bed Sheets, Twin (Fitted and Flat)
Bath Towels

 

 

Charity Spotlight: San Antonio AIDS Foundation2016-11-25T10:59:34-06:00

Charity Spotlight: Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc.

Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc. (FVPS) has been helping victims of domestic violence in San Antonio since 1977.

They host a number of events throughout the year, raising funds to support their many services. Among these is the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter of Bexar County.

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure or wound someone. Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender. It can happen to couples who are married, living together or dating. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.

Odds are, there is someone in your life who struggles or has struggled with domestic violence. 74% of all Texans have experienced some form of domestic violence or have a friend or family member who has experienced it. 31% of all Texans report that they have been severely abused at some point in their lifetime. Some more statistics:

  • One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
  • Almost one in three female homicide victims reported in police records were killed by an intimate partner.
  • One in six women and one in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape.
  • Sexual assault or forced sex occurs in approximately 40-45% of abusive relationships.

What Can We Do to Help?

We are collecting items this month to support the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter of Bexar County. This very important service offered by FVPS gives women and their children a safe haven as they leave an abusive situation. Our donations will go toward providing their clients emergency food, clothing, personal care items and baby and child care items. Here is a link to their wish list. I’ve also put a short version in the event listing.

If you or someone you know is afraid about something in their relationship, the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter helps with the following resources:

  • 24-Hour Crisis Intervention Hotline: 210-733-8810
  • Individual and Group Counseling for Women and Children
  • On-site Attorneys
  • On-site Adult Education
  • Case Management
  • Transitional Housing
  • On-site Primary Medical and Dental Care

Again, if you are in immediate danger, call 911 or reach out to the Crisis Hotline at 210-733-8810.

Charity Spotlight: Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc.2016-11-25T10:59:38-06:00
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