Firstly, an article in the Georgia Straight highlighted Free Geek’s use of Bitcoin as a payment method in the thrift store. What is Bitcoin? In the simplest terms, it’s virtual cash, and may be the future of money as we know it.
The article included comments from Free Geek’s sales coordinator Tim Adkins, who discussed Free Geek’s use of the service. Because Bitcoin operates using open-source technology, our use of it in the thrift store reinforces our dedication to accessibility and free and open-source software for our organization, our volunteers, and members of our community. Three cheers for Bitcoin, and to Tim for bringing Free Geek into the spotlight.
For more information, check out the article here.
Click this link for more about Bitcoin.
Our second mention came just a few days after the Bitcoin article. A press event was held in the Free Geek warehouse to publicize the staggering success of the Cell Phones for Seniors campaign that we covered in our last post. To date, the campaign has collected over 1,700 phones, all of which are being stored in the Free Geek warehouse as they await processing by our staff and volunteers. Due to the generosity of the donations, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are steadily making progress, and we know that this combined effort will make a great difference to people that receive the refurbished phones.
Click here to read the full article.
We also took a few behind-the-scenes photos of our own for you to check out....
We were happy and proud to host this event and celebrate the success of the campaign, thank you to everyone who helped make it happen!
Speaking of feeling celebrated, let us take a moment to spotlight our Volunteer of the Month, Brian!
Brian has been a member of Free Geek Vancouver for six years, donating his time at our weekly Open Help Night, where members of the community can seek help with their open-source software issues or hardware problems.
Brian started volunteering with us because he likes the ideas behind Free Geek, namely, the recycling program, the education, and the ethical components. He says the best part of his time at Free Geek has been meeting people, and the shared experiences Free Geek offers. As for where he might go with the skills and knowledge he has gained during his time with us, Brian says, “Because I am one of the most experienced technical volunteers, I see myself here as giving back rather than getting ‘from’ Free Geek in terms of education and help. But I still learn while I’m here.” He continues, “I've enjoyed my time at Free Geek and I look forward to continuing my experience and meeting new and interesting people through this.”
In addition to helping others in the community, Brian’s interests and hobbies include ham radio, and open-source advocacy.
Thank you for your dedication and enthusiasm, Brian. Here’s to another six years!
That’s all for this month, folks! Join us next month for more, and be sure to keep an eye on our social media for articles, insights, and geeky good humour.
Cheers, FGV
