2009 SERV Auction!

The 2009 SERV Auction is coming! Get your submissions ready!

The silent auction will begin on Monday, November 9^th, and culminate with the live auction on Friday, November 13^th.

This year, 100% of the proceeds will be going charity, split amongst the Central Asia Institute and Moving Windmills.

Submit your auction donation

Donations can be anything! Just make sure it’s something you can actually deliver, but otherwise use your imagination. Attached is a list of examples of student, faculty/staff, and alumni donations from last year to get you started.

Please use this Google form and fill in the details of your donation by Friday, November 6^th. Note that there is no distinction between live and silent auction submissions, as SERV will select a small number of the auction items to go up for bidding at the live auction.

Here is full link: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dEZfVUxUb0RXNzlyaHhYVURQX1ZpX2c6MA

About the charities

Moving Windmills Project supports Malawian-run rural economic development and education projects in Malawi, with the goals of community economic independence and self-sustainability; food, water and health security; and educational success. Moving Windmills Project is inspired by the story of William Kamkwamba, a remarkable young man from a remote village north of Malawi’s capital city. Forced to drop out of school due to lack of funds, William turned to self-education and, after seeing a picture of a windmill in a textbook, decided to build one to power his family’s home. William’s story is especially familiar at Olin after his recent visit and talk for the community.

Central Asia Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with the mission to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The organization was co-founded by Greg Mortenson who tells the powerful story of the Central Asia Institute and his mission in region in the NY Times Bestseller Three Cups of Tea.

The Central Asia Institute was the winner of the SERV Charity SERVey, but due to popular demand and the timing of William Kamkwamba’s talk after the survey, SERV has decided to donate 50% of the proceeds to Moving Windmills. If you have any comments or objections to this decision, please do not hesitate to email us at SERV@olin.edu.

We are looking forward to your donations and participation in the auction!

Race for the Cure

Race for the Cure has been a SERV tradition since the early days of Olin, consistently drawing faculty, staff, and alumni to walk or run alongside scores of Olin students. This year was another great one, as Olin once again won the award for largest non-corporate team with 118 people signed up (raising a total of over $3000 for breast cancer research).

This year the race was moved from UMass Boston to Seaport Boulevard by the World Trade Center, another extremely flat, fast course, and the crowd numbered thousands of pink-clad participants. Hungry for exercise or fresh air, or maybe because they care about carbon emissions, close to ten Oliners bicycled to the race. Then Oliners shined in the 5k race itself – special kudos to Andrew Fabian, David Gaynor, and Scott Thompson, who took the top three spots in the 19-and-under age group, and to Rachel Nancollas, who led the Olin women. For more race photos, check out the Flickr event page! Also, enjoy the brief video clips from students who had a great time at the race!

Bck to School Jamboree

Over Labor Day Weekend, Boston Public Schools hosted their annual event for families: the Back to School Jamboree. Each year BPS invites families to come out for a day of entertainment and free give-a-ways. Volunteers from local colleges, including a large group from Olin, volunteered alongside the BPS staff in running the event.

Many families lined up well in advance of the 11am start to make sure they received the best chance of getting some of the nicer give-a-ways, which included a variety of books, backpacks for the younger kids, and other school supplies for the upper elementary and middle schoolers. The first stop was the registration table where parents tried to find their kids in the large binders and get the forms they needed to move around amongst the booths. From here, there was a wide array of options. On stage, high-school-aged dancers performed to hip-hop and other music clips. There was also a popular face painting station There was a station for school registration for new families and a place to sign-up for the state's discounted health insurance plan. In order to qualify for the give-a-ways, the families also had to visit a few sponsored booths and receive stamps on their "passport" card. The day wrapped up at the table of free gifts where parents and students were eager to take something home that they could use on the first day of school.

The Olin volunteers included Rachel Nancollas, Yifei Feng, Alex Jones, Andy Pethan, Jacob West, Victoria Hsiao, Grace Ou, Ilari Shafer, Elizabeth Poindexter, Graham Hooton, Matt Huang, Jay Gorasia, and Gray Thomas. Though a tiring day, everyone had a great time helping out at the event. For a little extra fun, a sizable portion of the group decided to bike while the less adventurous rode the T into Government Center. Be on the lookout for more fun one-day service events for local schools and beyond!