<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
Dear LA council and members,<br>
<br>
You may have heard about <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://buzzconf.io/">BuzzConf</a>. It's an annual
technology festival that's about to see its third event run from Dec
1st to 3rd. Take liberal portions of tech conference, mix in a
family friendly atmosphere, a strong focus on diversity, and the
party atmosphere of a music festival, and you're on the right track.<br>
<br>
This year, we've had a fantastic number of submissions to the <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://buzzconf.io/kids-track/">kids
track</a>, and have enough to run two tracks for them! Some of
them require the supply of hardware, in particular:<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"><b>Nightmare Light</b><br>
<br>
In this workshop we will help you design, build and program a
nightmare-light. We’ll have sensors available for those who want
to detect ambient light for an extra challenge. The workshop is
geared towards children but those young-at-heart are welcome to
join too! Younger children can participate too if they have an
overseeing parent to help them.<br>
<br>
Participation is $30 per person to cover hardware costs. Each
person will get a kit with:<br>
<br>
1 x Arduino (will need a USB cable for programming)<br>
1 x Photo resistor<br>
1 x LED light pack<br>
1 x Battery<br>
1 x Set of wires (for electrical connection)<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Children attend BuzzConf for free and get their own educational
track, because we want to make events like these as accessible as
possible to families, especially single-parent families, who often
can't get to conferences.<br>
<br>
In this spirit, we'd love to cover all workshop costs for children
too. We currently have 37 child tickets sold, with 13 more
available. With an anticipated 20-30 children making a nightmare
light, the workshop organiser will be supplying $600 - $900 worth of
hardware.<br>
<br>
CoderDojo Carlton are also running a number of workshops and, while
they will be bringing hardware from their pool, they anticipate
incurring costs of around $65 for the components that kids will be
taking away (conductive tape, and LEDs).<br>
<br>
We are seeking funding to cover the cost to the organisers of
running the children's workshops, estimated at no more than $1,000.
Would LA be amenable to covering this cost? After the event, we
would provide a detailed itinerary and costs of hardware that was
given to the kids (we wouldn't expect workshop organisers to be
reimbursed for hardware that they don't give away), so that LA's
contribution is only for those costs. It may, in this scenario, be
easier for this request to be that the organisers are paid directly
by LA, and that we are seeking funding on their behalf.<br>
<br>
In acknowledgement of this support, we would including LA's logo on
our website as a Festival Sponsor (a $1,000 value in our sponsor
doc).<br>
<br>
On the off-chance that LA would consider a larger investment, in
order to run the two tracks for children, we are needing to secure
additional facilities, such as tables, tents, power, and projection
facilities. If LA were to consider a $5,000 investment and become a
Festival Partner, we would prioritise these funds to ensure the
children's workshop cost outlined above are covered first and
foremost. The remainder would help us with the increased costs of
additional facilities. The Festival Partner support level also
includes two festival tickets, which LA could use as they wish. (You
might want to send some representatives of LA, or give them away to
the community. We could help promote any activity around making
these available to others.)<br>
<br>
Many thanks in advance for your consideration. I welcome any
questions for clarification.<br>
<br>
Ben Dechrai<br>
Co-founder, BuzzConf Technology Festival<br>
</body>
</html>