[NJARC] The InfoAge "Save Our Dish" project

[David Sica]

NJARC members and friends:



*Short executive summary*:

Please support the "Save Our Dish" campaign at bit.ly/save-our-dish



*The Rest of the Story*:

At our club meeting last Friday I spoke briefly about the "Save Our Dish"
campaign underway at InfoAge. This is a somewhat lengthy note about why I
believe we as a club should support this campaign. Please do me a favor and
take a couple of minutes to read it because its timely and important.



After 12 years of taking mostly "baby steps" toward the future, InfoAge is
finally on the verge of "hitting its stride."  This campaign is an
important piece of the puzzle in terms of getting our act together and
breaking into the big leagues.



We're fortunate to have a home on Marconi Road for our club and our museum.
(How many other radio clubs would kill for an address like that?) Our
visibility within the community is amplified because of our affiliation
with InfoAge. Plus, working within InfoAge offers a chance to do some real
good in the world. I've often said that my affiliation with InfoAge will be
my contribution, however much or little that ends up being, to leaving the
world a little better place than I found it.



I confess to being a little self-conscious about begging for money, even
for the best of causes, but I'm urging every one of our members to please
make a donation to this effort. I did. It doesn't have to be a lot; if
every one of us kicked in only $10, we'd have over $2,000 more toward the
goal.



What is the goal? Well, the TIROS dish is THE iconic symbol for InfoAge.
You can't miss the giant, 60-foot dish antenna as heading down Marconi
road. As you may know, Princeton University has "adopted" the dish and is
working to restore it to operational condition.

That will take a lot of expertise, a lot of work and a a lot of money, but
Princeton is handling that. What we want to do is create some exhibit and
classroom space at the site to leverage the visibility a working dish will
give us, and that's what this fundraiser is about.



But wait, there's more! As I said, InfoAge is finally poised as an
organization to become a serious science center. Up until now, InfoAge has
been very modestly funded through membership dues, fundraising such as the
"Haunted Hike" (and this "Save Our Dish" campaign) and small grants from
local government and businesses. I don't know about you, but I'm always a
little self-conscious about the peeling paint, leaky roofs and
utterly-sincere-but-clearly-cobbled-together exhibits when visitors come
by. But beginning next year, we'll be applying for -- and receiving -- some
substantial grant money available through the Federal government. But of
course that comes with a catch: in order to qualify for that type of grant
money one needs to meet certain criteria. We're working on that. And one of
the things we need to do is document OUR own commitment to the future of
InfoAge. That's why a strong show of support by NJARC members, and other
organizations, is critical to the success of the big picture fundraising
that will take place next year.



So NJARC, and MARCH and the Historic Divers and every other organization
that calls InfoAge home has an opportunity here to "show the flag" and
provide evidence that we've got some skin in the game and that our
grassroots efforts are worthy of support by the people writing checks for
grants to causes such as ours. Folks in some of the other InfoAge member
organizations have been fairly generous in their support. NJARC is the
largest and strongest organization within InfoAge and it would be great if
we were able to demonstrate our support too.



There are only 5 more days left in the campaign, so please consider making
a small donation today. Hey, ten bucks is the only price of a single 01A
these days! And if you can spare $50 or $250 so much the better.



Here's how to do it:



Go to http://bit.ly/save-our-dish and click on "DONATE TO THIS FUNDRAISER."



A window will open confirming that you're donating via the NEW JERSEY
ANTIQUE RADIO CLUB.



Enter the amount you wish to contribute. Below that, you can enter your
name in place of "New Jersey Antique Radio Club" if you wish, or click the
button "Don't display my name" if you wish to remain anonymous. Below that,
you can add a comment if you like.



At the bottom of the page, click "DONATE" and a payment page will open.  Enter
your credit card billing information.



*IMPORTANT*: the site automatically adds an "optional processing fee" to
your donation. You can modify this amount, and you may want to reduce it to
zero before you finalize the transaction.



If you're skeptical, or have any questions, you're welcome to call me and
I'll be happy to talk to you. I can be reached at 973-873-6347 or by email
at davesica at njarc.org.



Thank you,

-- Dave Sica

Founding member, NJARC

Life member, InfoAge