鈥淵ou can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax all you need is a book!鈥� 鈥� Dr. Seuss

优蜜视频 kicked off our Read-a-Thon just over a week ago! Since then we have held our kickoff event, our first game of trivia, and we are getting set for our first round of virtual book clubs. In times like these, our 优蜜视频 family is more important than ever. The 优蜜视频 Read-a-Thon is a time to connect, share, fundraise, and read together.

We know not everyone is in a position to give right now, but if you are, we appreciate any amount that you’re able to give to support this fundraiser. Our goal is $20,000 and we are already over 25% of the way there!

It is not too late to join! Check out the 优蜜视频 Read-a-Thon kickoff video and follow these simple instructions to join one of our four 优蜜视频 fundraising teams!

1. Go to the 优蜜视频 .
2. Click on “I Want to Fundraise for This.”
3. Click on “I Want to Join a Team.”
4. Choose which team you wish to join and create an account.
5. Build your personal fundraising page; add a photo, your personal statement, and your fundraising goal.

Finally, start sharing your fundraising page! And please join us for our upcoming book clubs!
Click on the title of a book to register for its book club:

Saturday, October 3
9:00-10:00am PDT
鈥� by Madeline L’Engle
鈥�  by Rebecca Skloot

10:15-11:15am PDT
鈥� by Roald Dahl
鈥� by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson

Saturday, October 10
9:00-10:00am PDT
鈥� by Louis Sachar
鈥� by Jeffrey Kluger

10:15-11:15am PDT
鈥� by Pam Munoz Ryan
鈥� by RJ Palacio

While we are not physically able to be together right now, our virtual community is coming together to learn and grow. Thank you for your support so we can continue to support gifted children and create nurturing, enriching experiences that foster all aspects of each participant鈥檚 intellectual and personal growth.

The Institute for Educational Advancement was honored to be awarded a grant from the Annenberg Foundation to participate in the 2019 cohort of Alchemy Tech, a pilot program developed in partnership with the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN,) that is focused exclusively on technology capacity building for nonprofits in Los Angeles County. The kickoff to the program began with attending the Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) hosted by NTEN.

LOCATION AND VENUE

Portland, Oregon, Oregon Convention Center, March 13-15, 2019

Having never been to Portland, I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the downtown area is. The transit system makes getting around very easy, and almost everything I needed was within walking distance. There is no shortage of places to eat; from fine-dining to quick on-the-go meals, downtown Portland has something for everyone. (BlueStar donuts, anyone?)

CONTENT

Offerings

The conference ran for three days, and each day there were at least three sessions. There were over 130 topics to choose from, grouped by categories: IT, Fundraising, Leadership, Marketing/Communications, and Program, in addition to the keynotes and vendor presentations. In the main hall, there were over 100 vendors and suppliers ready to answer questions about various platforms and services. I definitely experienced information overload, but every session I attended gave me new insights and ideas into how to apply technology to our Pasadena-based organization.

Collaborative Notes

The conference is centered around technology, so it would stand to reason that technology would play a huge part in the delivery of information. An app allowed you to see the complete schedule of events, and by marking your favorites, create a mini vetted itinerary for yourself. In addition, either through the app or through a web browser, attendees were able to view notes provided for each session and contribute note-taking to the collaborative platform. After the conference concluded, speakers鈥� slide decks were also made available through the portal.

Learning Outcomes

Unfortunately, as many offerings as there were, one could only choose one topic per time slot to participate in. Perhaps future technology will allow for time-travel, cloning, or parallel-universe existence, but I did not have access to those this year.

Instead, I tried to attend sessions in various categories, sort of a 鈥渟urvey / 101鈥� approach. As 优蜜视频 is migrating to a new database this year, I learned key concepts around migrating data and keeping it clean, best-practices for implementing those changes, and specific questions to ask the team about goals and focus areas. I learned about various integrative delivery methods for deep content, such as the report on the Poll Results on Gifted Education going live this month. I attended sessions on succession-planning; mapping digital ecosystems; how to have effective project management from a staff resources, as well as,

a platform and reporting structure viewpoint; how to reach target audiences through crowdfunding and peer to peer networking; and even tools and tricks for creating an efficient and user-friendly financial dashboard that key stakeholders (board members, staff, foundations) can utilize with minimal time requirements.

ACTIVITIES

In addition to the actual conference, attendees arranged for various get-togethers and tours around the city each day. The conference hosted a party at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Thursday night, and key sponsors of the event (Microsoft and EveryAction) hosted mixers at the Convention Center.

PEOPLE

Finally, the conference provided excellent networking opportunities with fellow cohort members of the Annenberg Alchemy Tech program, NTEN employees, speakers and vendors, and fellow attendees who found each other through the 鈥淏irds of a Feather鈥� lunch tables coordinated by the event.

The experience was eye-opening and incredibly valuable, and our team is already implementing strategies and projects inspired by the event. Look for announcements from 优蜜视频 in the coming months regarding new platforms and technology, as we grow into the next phase of our development!

The 2020 NTC will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD, March 24 -26.

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

https://annenberg.org/what-we-do/alchemy/alchemy-tech/ https://www.nten.org/ntc/program/agenda/?page=day-2 https://www.oregoncc.org/ https://omsi.edu/

Also providing music throughout the evening was long-time Academy student Calvin and newly-selected CDB Scholar Sarah, who each played selections of classical repertoire while guests socialized and enjoyed wine and light fare.

The evening was emceed by CDB Parent Rick Rosner, who added humor and insight (as a gifted adult, himself) interspersed throughout testimonials given by 优蜜视频 program participants, parents and alumni. Delighted chuckles followed 7-year-old Academy student Henry鈥檚 declaration, 鈥淥ne of my favorite things is that my Academy teachers are flexible about going off-plan鈥ometimes when we go off-plan unexpected questions come up, and we don鈥檛 always know the answer. 聽When we don鈥檛 have the answers we all have to work together to figure it out, which is fun!鈥�

Henry鈥檚 enthusiasm was echoed by former Academy student and new CDB Scholar Ellie, who stated, 鈥溣琶凼悠� inspired me to take charge of my education鈥� I will be forever grateful to everyone at 优蜜视频 who showed me that learning is joyful, who inspired me to take charge of it and who have now lit the path ahead by giving me the resources to make it happen.鈥�

CDB Alumni Anna and Kiran also offered perspective by addressing the pressing need for support of gifted education. A recent high school graduate, Kiran is the founder of the nonprofit 鈥淲aste No Food鈥� and flew from San Francisco to speak at our event, where he lauded 优蜜视频鈥檚 ability to encourage and inspire its students. He said, 鈥淏y supporting 优蜜视频, you are supporting the growth of the next generation of thinkers, innovators and leaders. You are supporting a better tomorrow for all of us.鈥�

Guests were able to observe this phenomenon firsthand during an exciting flashlight demonstration overseen by 优蜜视频 president and co-founder, Betsy Jones, where each individual held up a light representing a percentage of the over 3 million gifted students in the United States and watched as, one by one, the lights went out due to misidentification, lack of resources, depression, and failure to engage and stimulate gifted minds. 鈥淚n our attempt to raise the basic standards of our schools and leave no child behind, we have forgotten those that are beyond the basics, those that have a voracious desire to learn,鈥� remarked Betsy. 鈥淎t 优蜜视频 we have seen that success springs from engaging the energy and the imagination of the mind. At 优蜜视频 we have removed the ceiling and turned on the lights.鈥�

As the house lights came back on, guests were encouraged to take what they had learned over the course of the evening out into the world and to share on behalf of the children who cannot advocate for themselves. Heartfelt thanks to the many guests who contributed to 优蜜视频鈥檚 2015 fundraising efforts and for your continued feedback and support, which helps us continue to serve the gifted community intellectually, spiritually, physically, socially and emotionally.

If you have not yet had the opportunity to donate to 优蜜视频 or if you would like to make another contribution, .