Nerd Night @ Geekdom Benefiting Snack Pak 4 Kids

Beneficiary organization: Snack Pak 4 Kids – San Antonio

Please join us at the Geekdom Event Centre for a night of board gaming as we welcome our first new nonprofit partner of 2018, Snack Pak 4 Kids!

NEEDED DONATION ITEM:
16-18 oz Jars of Peanut Butter

SP4K strives to provide weekend food security to kids who might go hungry when not able to avail themselves of school meal programs provided during the week.

In Bexar County alone, over 120,000 children are considered to be food insecure. Of those, it is estimated that 10-20% actually deal with chronic hunger (i.e. they lack adequate nutrition to lead a healthy, productive life).

Snack Pak 4 Kids San Antonio works hard to be a learning enhancement tool for these kids, solving their weekend hunger issue so they can learn during the school week.

Learn more: https://snackpak4kidssa.org/

The ONLY ITEM we are requesting as a donation for our February events is peanut butter. Size is important as these jars are sent home with kids and anything larger is too heavy or bulky for their backpacks.

• What to bring:
16-18 oz jar of Peanut Butter and your favorite board games!

Nerd Night @ Geekdom Benefiting Snack Pak 4 Kids2018-02-06T09:12:49-06:00

September Nerd Night @ Knight Watch

The Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas is the sole provider of ongoing, youth-focused grief support for families in San Antonio and South Texas. Most services are provided free of charge. Programs at the Center are designed to help children and families process the psychological and emotional challenges of death and loss in a safe and nurturing environment. CBCST helped over 1500 children and adult caregivers in 2015.

Join us at our September Nerd Nights as we gather items to support the Center in its mission to foster healing for grieving youth, their families and the community.

Items Needed:

Art supplies:
Washable Markers
Washable Acrylic Paint (Pink, Red, Blue, Green, Black, Yellow, Purple, etc.)
Paint brushes/foam brushes
Glue
8×10 Blank Canvas
Scissors
Scrapbooking items
Sidewalk chalk
Fabric paint
Paint markers

Other materials:
Individual sized fruit-flavored snacks
Individually packaged snacks (Cheese-Its, Ritz Bits, Graham Crackers, gold fish, etc.)
Granola bars
Facial tissues
Clorox wipes
Hand sanitizer
Glow sticks/glow in the dark necklaces, etc.
Flashlights
AA/AAA batteries
Funky duct tape

Gift Cards:
Office Depot/Office Max
Michael’s Arts and Craft Store
Hobby Lobby
H.E.B.
Walmart
Target
Lowe’s/Home Depot
Amazon.com

Birthday gifts:
New items for children 3-18 years of age

Teddy Bears:
NEW bears in brown, black or white

Every child that receives services from CBCST goes home with a teddy bear as a reminder that they are not alone.

Food/Drink: Bring your own, or we can order something as a group if there is interest.

September Nerd Night @ Knight Watch2017-09-15T10:16:48-06:00

March Nerd Night @ Knight Watch Games

This month we are collecting items for the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter. This facility, run by Family Violence Prevention Services, gives every person seeking help and shelter a safe haven. They run a 24-hour crisis hotline, offer case management, a children’s program, counseling, emergency food and clothing (more on that in a moment), legal advocacy and referral, medical and dental care, parent education, workshops and support groups, and a lot of educational services that help women and their children become self-sufficient.

The shelter is in need of a number of personal and household items that are accepted in new or gently-used condition. I’ll post a complete list in the charity profile later this week, but here are some highlights. All of these things will be collected at Nerd Night on January 8th. If you have a large item or need to donate at another time, give the donation center a call at (210) 733-3536 and Mari will make arrangements.

Baby Items

8-oz. Baby Bottles
Bottle Brushes
Baby Shampoo & Lotion
Diapers: Large sizes, 4, 5 & 6
Pull-ups: Large sizes
Baby Wipes

——
Personal Hygiene

Hand Gel/Soap (full size)
Bat Gel/Soap (full size)
Shampoo & Conditioner (full size)
Toothpaste & Toothbrushes
Deodorant
Hair Brushes & Combs
African-American Hair Products

——
Linens & Bath

Full/Twin Sheets – White only
Blankets & Comforters – White only
Towels & Washcloths
Shower Curtains
Pillows

——
Clothing & Shoes

New children’s underwear (all sizes)
New women’s underwear (Size 6+)
Pajamas
Bras
Socks
House Slippers
School Uniforms (sizes 4-20)

March Nerd Night @ Knight Watch Games2017-03-23T04:24:53-06:00

Charity Spotlight: Alpha Home

For 50 years, Alpha Home has been committed to treating the whole person—not just the addiction— by caring, qualified professionals. By incorporating their core values of spirituality, integrity, discipline, dedication and productivity into their treatment approach, they focus on the whole person and give those they serve the best tools for responsible, long-term sobriety.

Alpha Home has the only San Antonio gender-specific Residential Rehab Program dedicated exclusively to treating women.

The Residential treatment program provides women intensive and expansive therapeutic drug rehab and alcoholism addiction treatment program in a home-like residential setting that prepares them to remain clean and sober while embracing the benefit of a lifelong 12-Step commitment. Centrally located, Alpha Home is the perfect place to find serenity and begin working toward a new life.

Alpha Home offers dual diagnosis support for women who suffer from substance abuse and mental health issues. By providing gender-specific treatment in a nurturing environment, their program encourages women to focus on female specific issues. Over the course of the program, women are immersed in the 12 step program and are helped with important life skills, a combination that allows them to find sobriety and the courage to maintain it after they leave treatment.

Alpha Home offers two homes for women to live in during treatment. The Mulberry home has 31 beds, located in the middle of the Monte Vista Historic District, and the Camden home with 16 beds located near downtown. The bedrooms are cozy yet roomy, with twin-sized beds and a shared bath. The homes also include a large kitchen, dining room, media center, living room with cable television and on-site direct care staff.

Alpha Home’s Outpatient Treatment Program is a program for both women and men who are seeking treatment but have the skills and support to recover without residential care. The 16 week program offers gender-specific programs for both females and males 18 years and older, evidence based curriculums, and trauma-informed care.

 


Wish List

New or gently used women’s coats and sweaters

Women’s undergarments (new only):

  • Bras
  • Underwear
  • Socks
  • Pajamas

 

Toiletries (new only):

  • Toothbrushes
  • 15 oz. bottles of shampoo and conditioner
  • Wash cloths
  • Full size tubes of toothpaste
  • Regular size bars of soap
  • Makeup
  • Hotel/travel size toiletries

 

Tools and equipment (new only):

  • Hedge trimmer
  • Power washer
  • Nail gun
  • Air compressor
  • Circular saw
  • Reciprocating saw

 

Other needs (new only):

  • Bath towels
  • Twin sheet sets
  • Standard size pillows
  • Stationery
  • Plain envelopes
  • Blank note cards
  • Journals
  • New or used Alcoholics Anonymous books
  • New or used Narcotics Anonymous books
  • Vacuums (4)
  • Towels
  • Patio Furniture
  • Bath rugs
  • Indoor plants
  • Area rugs for living rooms
  • Small refrigerator
  • Hard plastic/ceramic (plates, bowls, cups)

 

Alpha Home cannot accept:

  • Party dresses
  • Flip flops
  • Short shorts
  • Baby items of any kind
  • Used electronics
Charity Spotlight: Alpha Home2016-12-28T16:32:29-06:00

Charity Spotlight: The Rape Crisis Center

The Rape Crisis Center is a 501(c)(3) organization that exists to support all survivors of sexual assault and ensure victims have a responsive medical community, sensitive law enforcement officials, and an active prosecution system. For 40 years, the Rape Crisis Center has been a resource for our community. We are supporting their work at both of our August events.

Why is this work so important? Some statistics:

• 6.3 million Texans have experienced some form of sexual assault in their lifetime
• 2 in 5 women in Texas have been sexually assaulted
• 1 in 5 men in Texas has been sexually assaulted
• 91% of sexual assault victims did not report to law enforcement
• 90% of all child victims are assaulted by someone they know
• Studies confirm the undetected rapist is a serial hunter and serial offender
• Over 94% of rapists roam free with only 3% ever spending a day in jail

(Statistics from Texas Association Against Sexual Assault)

Per TxDPS 2014 Crime Data, someone was raped every 46 minutes in Texas that year. As that doesn’t account for unreported rape, the number of sexual assaults that likely occur in Texas each year is staggering.

The Rape Crisis Center is the only sexual assault program in Bexar County. It offers client-centered services that seek to empower and promote the safety of survivors, without judgment.

They offer several kinds of services to clients:

Counseling: Free and confidential counseling is offered to survivors, family members, and their loved ones affected by sexual violence. Qualified, bilingual counselors provide therapy for individuals, couples, families, and children.

Crisis Intervention: 24-hour crisis intervention services via telephone and online hotlines give immediate, anonymous support to anyone needing a safe place to talk or to get advice and referrals.

Education: Promoting healthy relationships is the focus of this public health program. Presented all around San Antonio, from middle schools to professional organizations, the program seeks to open up conversations about relevant topics such as anti-bullying, bystander responsibility and violence in the media.

Client Advocacy: This program is focused on helping survivors and their families with everyday needs, from shelter and housing to employment and legal assistance.

How can we help?

The Rape Crisis Center is in need of many items to do their important work. These items help in their daily work and also with their youth and therapy groups. We will be collecting the following at both August Nerd Nights.

• Black binder clips (medium & large)
• Black lanyards
• Bottled water
• Clip boards
• Colored copy paper
• Construction paper
• Disinfecting wipes (e.g. Clorox, Lysol wipes)
DYMO Letratag refills
Flip chart markers
• Hand sanitizer
• Highlighters (all colors)
• Kleenex
• Large plastic storage bins
• Mechanical pencils
• Pens
• Pocket folders
• Post-Its
• Spiral notebooks
• USB flash drives
• Washable markers
• White cardstock
• Canvases (any size)
• Clay Markers (e.g. Sharpies)
• Water color paint
• Gift cards – H-E-B, Walmart, Target, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Visa
• Candy (snack-size to give out at outreach events)

Charity Spotlight: The Rape Crisis Center2016-11-25T10:59:32-06:00

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

International Tabletop Day and Updates

Apologies for my absence from this blog lately, I started a new job and things have been super-crazy!

To start, here are some pics from International Tabletop Day. It was great to meet so many new people and see so many old friends. We collected some books ahead of tomorrow’s Nerd Night, and Kelly, Nathan and I handed out about 100 postcards to attendees. We had about 150 people at ITTD, so congrats to GaMExpo on a very successful day! The space at Wonderland of the Americas is huge, and that’s definitely something to keep in mind for future events.

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Giant GaMExpo game library!

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Silent auction. All proceeds to benefit San Antonio Youth Literacy!

 

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Knight Watch Games was one of the vendors.

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Childs Play

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Alamo City Fleet Command

As I mentioned, tomorrow is Nerd Night. We’re hoping for a huge turnout to support Book Buddies and San Antonio Youth Literacy. Pick up a kids book (here’s a link if you need ideas) and come play games with us at Geeks Cafe from 7-midnight. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend this month (*ahem* The Cure live in Austin! *ahem*), but I am leaving you all in the capable hands of Lisa, Keller and Nathan. I know it’s going to be a great night.

Lastly, our big news this month: San Antonio Nerd Night, Inc. is now a registered 501(c)(3) public charity! This means all donations are tax-deductible, among other benefits. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to our fundraiser to make this happen – you can now deduct that contribution from your 2016 tax return!

International Tabletop Day and Updates2016-11-25T10:59:33-06:00

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
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