Joomla!

My latest assignments for Positive Spin are updating and rearranging the website and the "30-minute flyer."

For the website, Nick uses a program called Joomla!. I have never heard of Joomla! before so I'm a little worried about the speed and accuracy I can do this. I tried to insert an image from a file to the "directions" section, but it took me an hour before I gave up. Nothing frustrates me more than confusing technology. There is also the issue the Nick uses 1.0 when many online directions are for 1.5. I have never done anything on the web before, but I trust my computing skills enough to figure out a working process.

Writing for the website has one major question for argument, why is a bike/bus/walking/PRT better than a car? Every reason will have its own section with a paragraph or two, some pictures, and some links to various articles. I found one good one HERE.

The "30-minute flyer" was a flyer for a event called Go for the Groceries. Nick was off to give a safety lecture to a local school and said he would like a few flyers for this event. The trick was is that the lecture was in 50 minutes. That gave us 10-minutes to transfer all the files and information to my computer, 30-minutes to edit the flyer, and 10-minutes to print it out. Lucky for me, Nick had another flyer that I used as a template. I read and picked all the most important information that a school kid may find interesting, changed logo, added pictures, and edited it. It was only OK, if I had more time I could have really focused, but sometimes your just rushed.

The flyer may go in the tri-fold. I think that original/edited text will have a red background, and final drafts will have a green background.

Thinking about the final reflection

This entry is more notes to myself. As a work towards the final few weeks, I have to think about what I will write and talk about for my tri-fold and final reflection.

Things I plan to mention:
1. Positive Spin's first PWE intern. (what it represents)
2. Rules when I write.
3. First grant proposal.
4. What PWE means (to me/Positive Spin)
5. What is Positive Spin?
6. My role/job with Positive Spin.
7. Letters, notes, opinions, concerns, etc.

This list is in no particular order and is subject to change.

For my tri-fold title I was thinking "The Positive Spin of PWE" or something corny/snappy/cleaver like that. I plan to keep the WVU color scheme or something I find on PowerPoint templates. I will have a general info (PS, PWE, Role) in the center and one side for Editing and the other for Writing. Each example will have a paragraph or two introducting it.

After the Break

I was able to finish most the work I needed to over our spring break. I finished entering in all the year's events on the web and drafted a letter to Dave Egger's. Activeliving.org, however, stopped taking story submissions for their website. It's a shame because no stories from WV are currently there.

Now that I am back, Nick has me helping write a proposal to the board members for a company laptop. It has to be under $300. A new Mini netbook with XP is about $280. A place in Morgantown called PCrenewal has refurbished laptops and will surly have something for everyday computing under $300.

To write this proposal, I think about the Pros and Cons of having a laptop. It's surprisingly hard to write about something that I think is a no-brainer. I can't think of any Cons. So I talked about the importance of having modern technology for a growing business and it's travel convenience. Nick suspects this will not be a problem, more a formality.

As a side note, today I helped move old bikes out the warehouse by the wharf to be recycled.

Before the Break

Spring Break is almost here and I will make sure that I have work to do for Positive Spin.

Over the break I will update the calender on the web (positivespin.org), write to health websites about what Positive Spin is all about, and write to David Eggers about the program he helped inspire. It is not that much work really. I plan to take only an hour or two a day to finish it all.

As for the grants I blogged about last time, I have been working with John Loizer. John is another a friend of Nicks who will help submit the letters of recommendation and proposals on time to the B&E.

Over these last few days, I have been working on finalizing the proposals to the best of my knowledge. "If Wheels Could Talk..." (IWCT) stands a pretty good chance, I feel. I have refined the budget and edited for minor copyedit mistakes. I would love if we even got have the $4000 dollars proposed. I would be a real boost to my ego and something to mention to future empoliers.

I am a little worried about the "Helmets for Morgantown" (H4M) proposal though.

In case I didn't blog about it earlier, H4M will provide free helmets to Morgantown citizens when they buy, loan, or repair bikes. We are asking for $500 for 73 helmets in various sizes and colors. I filled out the order form and they are really high case helmets. Did you know 50% of America's children (14 and under) suffer serious head trama from falling off of bikes, in-line skates, and skateboards without a helmet?

I feel I didn't know enough about the program to make a solid enough argument. Nick also explained about why these helmets are special, but I forgot the proper names he used. Also, I didn't even know the real project name. I just called it H4M out of the blue and no one seemed to correct me. However, I am sure John can fix anything that I may be mistaken on.

Starting off

I have been working at Positive Spin for about five days now and am starting to see what Nick Hein wants to do with the place. Nick's idea of Positive Spin was inspired by Dave Egger's 826 Valencia in San Fransisco. Nick showed me a video you can find by clicking here.

The idea is to kids with their writing in a fun environment with a project called If Wheels Could Talk. The project would start over the Summer and have 3 kids with 3 volunteers in hour long sessions, five days a week. However, Nick wants to replace Egger's idea of a pirate store with a bike shop. I think the bike shop is a great evolution of Egger's. We can get kids being hands on with bikes and teach them about cycling benefits. We also want kids to write about their adventures on a bike so we can publish them in a book and have those profits go towards additional funding.

If Wheels Could Talk solves two growing problems in one, non-profit set up. According to a survey by the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2006, 29.4 percent of American children are considered obese. That is over nineteen million children. There has also been a decline of writing skills in schools. Poor writing in elementary schools develop into low grades in high school's, which result in children being less interest in seeking higher education. Without college education, a person's chances of finding a good paying job are greatly diminished.

Without a healthy body, kid's shall be in and out of hospitals constantly and die younger. Without a well paying job, children will not be able to afford the rising costs of health care when they grow older. This could lead to a Morgantown where citizens are fat and poor because they are fat.

To help fund his idea, Nick has me writing a grant proposal to WVU's B&E. They award grants to companies that can benefit Mon County and Morgantown.

I have been writing as much as I can, but Nick has left for Guatemala for two weeks and the proposal is due before he gets back. There also required letters of recommendation and that's something I really need Nick here to help with. I will due want I can, but I don't know anyone to contact to get the letters in time.

My First Day

Today was my first day working as a intern with Positive Spin. I started the day by helping Nick Hein install some wrenches and various tools on the wall for the public work benches. The office itself doubles up as a shop for people to repair, recycle, and pick up bikes. There is a small room where Nick and I have set up our laptops to get some minor work done. The office itself is very (VERY!) cold.

I started by updating the list of volunteers with their name, phone, address, email, and major information. I have not finished it yet, because Mr. Hein asked that I include a picture of everyone as well. This will take some time, because I am the only volunteer here this early in the day. Nick said he would help out by getting everyone's picture for me. Its a short list so it shouldn't take long.

Nick also got me working on editing and combining the minutes and the narrative of a board meeting held on March 3rd. This way it comes in one easy to read, 7-page file. It involved organizing the charts with the narrative so they flowed together and could also be used for quick reference. It was a word document that needed proper formatting.

I also made some suggestions about posting the Positive Spin name on other websites like Activeliving.org and pot holes I found in the company website. There are just a few dead links and sentences saying "click pic below," but there was no picture. I was hoping to work will the company webmaster, but he quit yesterday. So, I will work with Nick to fix these problems and update the website. I have very little experience with open source FTP code, but Nick seem to know a little bit more then me.

I am looking forward for tomorrow where I will bring up the ways Nick sees Positive Spin growing.

Positive Spin

Today I had a meeting with Nickolas Hein, CEO of Positive Spin. Positive Spin is a community partner of WVU's Center for Civic Engagement. Mr. Hein was very enthusiastic about bringing me on as a professional writing and editing intern to help around the office. He has never worked with a PWE intern before and hopes I can turn Positive Spin into a bigger company. This gives me a chance to define my own position and importance within Positive Spin.

Positive Spin focuses on loaning, repairing, and recycling bikes for people who choose to remain active, don't have a car, and/or rely on public transportation to get from place to place. Their most ambitious goal is to eliminate 80% of the vehicle miles traveled by 2040.

As an intern, I will help write grant proposals to encourage sidewalk building and repair projects, updating information to the webpage (positivespin.org), and edit executive and volunteer manuals. Mr. Hein is also part of program to get kids riding bicycles and writing about their experiences. I will enjoy helping on this project the most because kids are only getting fatter and aren’t excited about education. This program will help kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

I will work for around 28 hours a week, starting at 9am, and be doubling up a receptionist. This way, the company can keep steadier hours and keep organized. I am hoping to do a little design work by creating a new logo, t-shirts, hats/helmets, any number of flyers, and promotional material.

I will be updating this blog bi-weekly to track my progress with Positive Spin.