I told him we would be happy to help him as well, and we exchanged a number of phone calls as they sought to get their project registered as a non-profit corporation, and as they began working on the paperwork to file for a 501(c)(3).
When the time came for them to come to Tulsa to study how we did Computer Refurbishing, they asked where the closest motels were. Rather than just giving them a link to the map to my house from the HelpingTulsa website, I went to Yahoo Maps and generated a map that included Hotels and Motels, where they could click on the various hotels to find out how much it cost to say there, and other information about the hotel. They decided to stay at La Quinta Inn:
That map offerred four choices of places to stay, but if they had wanted more choices, they could have clicked on Zoom Out and gotten another map which offerred 42 choices
On May 9, 2004 Larry and his wife Sharon came to Tulsa, and I provided them with several copies of each of the floppy disks (Clone 4, Drive Setup, etc) we use all the time in our processing of refurbished computers. I also showed them how they could make additional disks on the Image Machine we were giving them, and gave them a sheet of labels for each type of floppy we provided them (so that they could make additional disks when they needed them). I explained why we use colored floppy disks, so that we can always use red (or orange) for our Clone 4.1 disks, always use yellow for our Drive Setup disks, etc. so that we could more quickly identify the floppy disk we needed to use.
I also gave them a 12-Piece Computer Tool Kit we get from the same company where we get the Drive Tray Cage and extra Drive Trays we use in our Image Machine, and encouraged them to get one (cost $5) for each of the volunteers in their project.
We began refurbishing a few computers to show them how we do that, and one of them was terribly dirty, so I had them bring in my vacuum cleaner and showed them how to use my Micro Vacuum Attachment Kit and urged them to get one (cost $9.95).
They said that their technical people had been reviewing our online documentation, but that some of them did not have broadband access, so I made them three copies of a CD with a copy of our entire HowTo folder, plus copies of five screensavers I developed, and a number of other application programs which we use, and are considering using.
I stressed to them how important it is to look professional when approaching companies for donations, and to help them get started in this effort we agreed to host a website for their project, and I built a preliminary page for that website:
I also set up email forward addresses for Larry and Sharon using their domain name, and recommended that we set up similar email forward addresses for each of their directors and volunteers. I showed them how we used Avery Business Card stock (5871) to create business cards for each of our workers (PDF file), and even though they had not yet finalized their logo, we created a Microsoft Word file (PDF file) to create initial business cards for both Larry and Sharon. We tried to print them on my ink jet printer, but had difficulty getting it to work (I had not used it in a LONG time, and the ink cartridges were plugged up, and the Business Card stock would not go through my LaserJet printer, so Larry and Sharon had to go to Kinkos to get them printed.
During a lunch break Sharon saw an image she thought would be good for their logo. She plans on coming up with the final artwork, but I was able to locate a better quality image that was somewhat similar to what she found, and I used it, together with the Adobe Illustrator file for the HelpingTulsa logo, to come up with a preliminary logo they are considering going with:
I used the vector-based Adobe Illustrator to create that logo, so that it could be rendered in whatever size they wanted, from something small enough for a business card, to something for their website, to something larger for a banner in the building they work in, all the way to a billboard along the highway. For those interested, here is a Zipped version of that AI file. We also took that preliminary logo, and used it to create preliminary wallpaper that they could use on the computers they refurbished.
They went out the other location where we do computer refurbishing: Bethesda Boys Ranch (Bethesda Adult Life Training Center) to see how they do it. They picked up a number of already refurbished machines there, and then came back to my house to pick up their Image Machine, and another refurbished machine for the Yosts to use. I believe they ended up with about 10 computers and monitors, including the Image Machine, several printers, and a number of other items to help them get started. Larry said his van was so loaded down that he was going to be driving "uphill" all the way back to Nebraska.
