meetup

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.

Giant GaMExpo game library!

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

Knight Watch Games was one of the vendors.

Childs Play

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 UpdatesStephanie2016-11-25T10:59:33-06:00

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

May Nerd Night: Book BuddiesStephanie2016-11-25T10:59:40-06:00

March Nerd Night Wrap-Up

Going to the Dogs

Hello again! Thank you to everyone for a super successful March Nerd Night. We gathered a ton of things for the Animal Defense League and I delivered them earlier this week. They were over the moon about the quantity of items. It’s always a good feeling when I drop off the donations, so thanks to all of you for a bright spot in my Monday.

A note on Nerd Nights going forward. We know we were overcrowded, and we’re working with Geeks Cafe on a way to alleviate that – new table layouts, more chairs, maybe moving the sofas somewhere… long story short we know it was hard to move around and we want you guys to have a comfortable place to game, so we’ll work on it for next time!

Speaking of next time

April’s charity is the San Antonio AIDS Foundation. Spotlight to come soon. The date is April 8th. We’ll be gathering items for clients of their housing and hospice programs.

Our next event, though, is ReDo Recess at the DoSeum. I’m looking for a few people to come with us and hand out postcards, talk about Nerd Night, and help out with staffing their event. You’ll get a free ticket to Recess (which is a lot of fun) and also I’ll be decking you out in a fabulous Nerd Night polo that you can wear to future events! If you’re interested drop me a line (steph@sanerdnight.org) ASAP please.

Who knew you all were so photogenic?

Thanks to Lene Griego of Master Photography by LG for graciously sharing her photos of the event with me! So much nicer than my camera phone pictures.

Don Jennings - Animal Defense League - Master Photography by LG

Don Jennings from the Animal Defense League speaks about their mission.

March Nerd Night - Master Photography by LG

Don Williams - Animal Defense League - Master Photography by LG

Childs Play had their mobile store at the event.

March Nerd Night - Master Photography by LG

Geek Out SA doing that podcast thing they do.

This game involved donuts, I’m told. And there’s a kickstarter? Someone give me links.

March Nerd Night - Master Photography by LG

Red Star Gaming

March Nerd Night - Master Photography by LG

March Nerd Night Wrap-UpStephanie2016-11-25T10:59:34-06:00

April Nerd Night: San Antonio AIDS Foundation

April’s partner organization is the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit with a dual mission – 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.

The San Antonio AIDS Foundation exists to provide dignity and comfort to individuals infected with HIV and AIDS. SAAF was founded in 1986 by Papa Bear, aka Robert Edwards, a local bar owner who responded to the medical and social crisis at a time when most were afraid. SAAF began as a volunteer-staffed hospice in the back of a bar and has evolved to a multi-service agency reaching thousands on individuals every year through healthcare, support services and educational outreach.

Some of SAAF’s services include:

Testing and Education including free HIV and syphilis rapid testing, hepatitis-C and tuberculosis testing.
Special Care Facility and Hospice Care licensed by the state, providing 24-hour care, substance abuse and pastoral counseling, nutritional counseling, administration of medication, transportation to appointments, and medication reviews.
Case Management coordinating care and linking clients to a wide range of medical, mental health care and community-based services.
Nourishing SAAF providing 3 nutritious hot meals per day, 365 days a year. All meals are reviewed by a registered dietitian and include foods that help provide for particular dietary needs of persons with HIV/AIDS.
Short-Term Transitional Housing for a total of 20 men, women and transgender formerly homeless clients.
Dental Assistance is offered through dental subcontractors in the community to those who meet Ryan White eligibility requirements and have no private or public dental insurance coverage.

April Nerd Night will collecting items to support the work of SAAF’s special care and hospice facility, short-term transitional housing and case management programs.

Wish List

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
Used DVDs
Dish Soap
Cleaning Sponges
Bed Sheets, Twin (Fitted and Flat)
Bath Towels
Bus Passes

April Nerd Night: San Antonio AIDS FoundationStephanie2016-11-25T10:59:40-06:00

Crowdfunding, Nerd Night Updates

Hey nerds!

It’s been a while since my last post. Things have been busy at Nerd Night HQ, aka my house, and I figured it was time for a quick update.

Last month, five of your fellow Nerd Nighters and I gathered at my house and formed San Antonio Nerd Night, Inc. We’re now an official nonprofit corporation, registered with the state of Texas. We’re a board of six, and I’ll get some information up about the board soon once we determine how that’s going to be put out there. Our first order of business is obtaining our 501(c)(3) status, which is expensive and involves a lot of forms, like anything the federal government, and especially the IRS, is in charge of – so that’s quite an undertaking. To that end, we’re raising money on Crowdrise. You might have seen my posts on Facebook or Twitter about this, and I’ll speak on it more at Nerd Night on Friday, but the short version is that we need several hundred dollars for the application and I’m not able to front it myself. Thus, the wonderful world of crowdfunding. If everyone gives a little, we’ll have what we need in no time.

Nerd Night is this Friday! Join us at Geeks Cafe on Babcock and bring an item (or two or ten) to support the Animal Defense League of Texas. The donation wish list is available at this event link and there’s sure to be something there you can find easily at a store near you. We’ll have a guest speaker from ADL and her canine friend.

Joining us on Friday will be Childs’ Play Games & Geekery, a mobile game store run by Sarah Childs and based in New Braunfels. She is graciously donating a portion of all game sales to the ADL, so if you play a game you especially enjoy, see if she has a copy with her! They also offer local free delivery to the San Antonio area.

Speaking of generous Nerd Night partners, Geeks Cafe will be donating a portion of all food sales on Friday night as well. Do we have the best friends or what?

See you all on Friday night!

Crowdfunding, Nerd Night UpdatesStephanie2016-03-09T10:37:43-06:00

March Nerd Night

This month’s partner organization is the Animal Defense League of Texas, a 501(c)(3) non-profit working to help San Antonio’s stray dogs and cats.

ADL is a true no-kill shelter, which means animals are never euthanized if they can be treated and returned to health. No animal is ever euthanized to make room for others. The mission of the Animal Defense League is to enhance the quality of life for abandoned, abused, or neglected animals by providing needed medical care, food, shelter, and safety along with compassion and attention. They provide a number of services, including:

Sheltering animals, regardless of their conditions when they arrive
Complete medical treatment for all resident animals
Full-time veterinary staff
Low-cost spay and neuter program for pets of low-income families
Humane education programs
Adoption services to help resident animals find forever homes

March Nerd Night will collecting items to support the work of ADL, both general need and animal-specific items.

General Needs

Brooms & String Mops
Copy Paper
Hand Sanitizer
Heavy Duty Water Hoses
Laundry Detergent
Bleach
Trash Bags (33 gallon)
Newspapers
Strip-Shredded Paper
Lawnmowers, Weedeaters, and Edgers
Electric Space Heaters
Refrigerators
Nailguns and Drills
100 ft. Electric Snake
Steam Mop

Animal-Specific Needs

KONG and “Hard Plastic” Toys
Blankets (any size)
Towels
Heating Pads
Nebulizers
Canned Kitten Food
Puppy and Kitten Toys
Dog and Cat Toys
Pedigree Canned Dog Food
Esbilac Puppy Formula
KMR Kitten Milk Replacement
Gerber 2^nd FOOD Chicken
Beech Nut Stage 1 Chicken
Plastic Kiddie Pools
Baby Wipes

March Nerd NightStephanie2016-03-09T12:03:59-06:00

February Nerd Night Wrap Up

So, I know I say this almost every post, but…

You. Guys. Are. Awesome.

I won’t lie, I was worried about the venue change and all of you making the move to another part of town. But wow, did you all prove that I worry a lot over nothing! We had FIFTY happy game-playing nerds at Geeks Cafe on Friday, and you all collected an amazing amount of STUFF for SAMMinistries. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

February Nerd Night

Nathan’s Room

Ticket to Ride

Paulina, Kelly & Shane

Keller

Vince

Winner!

Melanie from SAMMinistries speaking to the group

Anyway. Apologies for some of these blurry pictures, I’m apparently challenged when I don’t have a flash.

Our next Nerd Night is scheduled for March 11 and will again be at Geeks Cafe. We’re collecting items for the Animal Defense League of Texas. I will post a spotlight article very soon with details about what items they are in need of to take care of all the pups and kitties that are lucky enough to end up in this no-kill shelter.

Shameless plug time!

Art by Freddy Gonzalez

This fabulous piece of art has been donated to help raise money for SAMMinistries. Colleen and Vince of GaMExpo and Geek Out SA are handling a silent auction. Starting bid is $100. Get on over to their Facebook page and make a bid, y’all!

Speaking of Geek Out SA…

[youtube id=”0_0-UjV3Vx4″ width=”600″ height=”350″ autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=””]

Nathan and I stopped by to plug Nerd Night and talk about all things geeky. Give it a watch!

February Nerd Night Wrap UpStephanie2016-11-25T10:59:36-06:00

Nerd Night Reminder and Meetup Group Updates

Nerd Night Updates

Just a quick note to remind everyone of Nerd Night on January 8th at Magic Beans. We’ll be collecting item donations for the Battered Women & Children’s Shelter run by Family Violence Prevention Services.

A quick look here will tell you a little more about FVPS and the shelter specifically.

We are again planning a lot of open gaming, a raffle (Prize TBD by whichever game gets to my house first, curse you FedEx!) and possibly a Ticket to Ride or Catan tournament, depending on interest. I’ve got two new games I’d like to play – Dead of Winter and Castles of Mad King Ludwig – and one borrowed game I need to practice, King of Tokyo. I’ll be demoing some IELLO games at PAX South and it’s probably best to be able to explain it quickly and concisely before a command performance 🙂 So I hope some of you will let me use you as guinea pigs.

Meetup Group

In case you missed it, we now have a meetup group! There are almost 100 people subscribed to the meetup as of this morning, and I’m super excited for what that means in terms of publicity for Nerd Night and for the new people it may bring to the event. We have 15 Yes RSVPs as of this posting. Some of those are brand new folks, so there will hopefully be some new faces at the event this Friday.

Very important!

Here is the list of requested donation items from FVPS. Please give generously and often 🙂 I’ll be collecting these items into boxes/bags at Nerd Night and delivering them to the shelter next week.

Again, thank you! See you on Friday night.

Nerd Night Reminder and Meetup Group UpdatesStephanie2016-01-04T14:53:33-06:00

Meetup Group, Updates and More

In the interest of finding more like-minded folks, I’ve started a Meetup group. Click here to visit, join up and stay informed about Nerd Night goings-on. I’ll still be maintaining the website as I 1) enjoy it and 2) think it’s really a better platform for blogging and such, but this gives me access to better recruiting tools and an additional promotional avenue. We’ll give it a shot and see how it works out!

December

Nerd Night is TONIGHT! I’m excited to see how a Friday works out at Magic Beans, and also to fill up that huge barrel. Check out our list of 12 Most Wanted Items and come by to see us tonight!

12 Most Wanted Items:

Peanut Butter
Cereal
Tuna
Beans
Rice
Mac & Cheese
Chili
Canned Stews
Canned Soups
Canned Luncheon Meats
Full Means Can/Box
Pop Top Food Items

January

I’m also excited to announce that next month’s Nerd Night is going to benefit the donation center at Family Violence Prevention Services. I’ll have more information about what’s most critically needed over the next week or so, and I hope everyone will get behind this very worthy cause.

See you tonight, nerds!

Meetup Group, Updates and MoreStephanie2016-11-25T10:59:39-06:00

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