No Limits 1st Post

Good evening everyone, and welcome to a very special edition of "Taking Photographs". I am pleased to announce that my latest project; “No Limits” is moving forward. We are going to have our first fundraiser fashion show in October. (The show will take place on the second or third weekend, we are awaiting confirmation from the venue) As soon as we receive confirmation about the exact date, tickets will go on sale. At this time we anticipate tickets costing $25 each. There is a parking lot available offering discounted parking. (3 hours for $6) Proceeds collected from the show will be put toward funding for No Limits and Project Hype. If you would like to purchase a ticket for the show, but are unable to attend the show, we have a list of people who would like to attend the show, but are unable to purchase a ticket. I am also asking anyone looking to help us who might not be able to purchase a ticket to donate $5. We are taking all of our collected proceeds and purchasing the following: • Computers • Media equipment including DSLR cameras and video cameras • Software including full versions of Lightroom and Photoshop • Awards, trophies and plaques for our students who have achieved academic and competitive success in sports, chess, skills competitions and academic competitions • On PARR (Positive Attitude Respect Responsibility) Performance parties for students whose achievements and character go beyond our expectations • Education and mentoring trips • Large screen smart televisions to assist classroom teachers with lesson plans and other learning projects and activities I recently purchased a 32 inch Westinghouse television to assist me in the classrooms. The reason why I purchased this television was to utilize my I-phone and I-pad to present my curriculum to the different classes that I’m working with. Using this type of equipment in the classroom makes it easier for me to teach math, and other lessons as well. I am also capable of showing different videos ranging from introduction to chess for beginners, through training and tactics for my more experienced players. I was recently speaking to one of my colleagues who substitutes at our school on a regular basis. She saw my recent setup and commented favorably about it. “I wish that I could take a television in my classroom to help me teach my students. I just don’t have any where to keep it.” I want to limit small problems facing teachers who want to help children. When we purchase enough televisions to compensate all of the classrooms that need them, we will create a system that will allow us to simply “roll” a television into a room with the appropriate connections to teach. Signing out a television screen to teach is not a new concept, however, it will be a new concept at our school. We are continuing our fight against limited resources in our school by doing more with less. Unfortunately, this is a very familiar slogan that has been used in too many organizations. However, if I can collect the financial resources capable of helping our students, I will have done my job. One of my plans is to constantly provide updates about our school’s progress. Our plan is to constantly update our social media websites via our media program. We have created our Facebook and Twitter pages, and we are planning to launch our YouTube channel very soon. We can constantly provide constant updates on everything that is going around in, and around our school. Simultaneously, we will introduce our students to the fields of photography, videography and journalism. Our students will become news reporters and journalists. They will act as the eyes and ears for special events and information about our school. At this time I want to say thank you to all of the people who have made a donation, volunteered their time or both over the last several years. For those of you who have recently contributed to our cause, or are about to, thank you as well! I will be frequently making announcements on my blogs to keep you informed about what’s going on with our programs. If you want to do something right now, you can donate $5 towards our program. (If you would like to donate more, that’s fine also!) You can make a payment through PayPal, check, money order or credit card. If you would like to donate $5 in cash, wait until you see me in person. For everyone else, payments can be mailed to: Darryl C. Madison 229-19 Merrick Blvd #301 Laurelton NY 11413. If you have any comments, questions or concerns about anything that you have read so far, please feel free to reach out to me via cell phone, (646-294-1936) or via email at Madisonspics@yahoo.com At this time I wanted to answer some of the questions that you might have at this time: 1. Why don’t you use “Kickstarter”, or “Go Fund Me”? If we start a campaign with any agencies with an established goal, we would have to wait until the goal is met before we can accomplish anything. It is much easier to ask for support and utilize whatever we collect right now. There are “No Limits” on anything that we could do right now. (Please excuse the shameless plug for “No Limits”) 2. Are you a non-for profit organization? We are currently exploring other avenues of turning our “for-profit” into a “non-for-profit”. As you are reading this post, a meeting took place earlier today bringing us one step closer to turning our program into a non-for-profit entity that will work with students in the South East Queens and Long Island communities. 3. How will proceeds be tracked? Every single penny collected for “No Limits” will be recorded via two ways, manually through a ledger, and electronically through computer software for finances. There will be a constant checks and balances system implemented to keep the most accurate records possible. 4. What if someone wants to work with your organization? Volunteers are always welcome to assist us with our future projects. There will be times where we might have transportation issues, a need for a case of water, etc. We will put out a public request soliciting help via social media, blog posts and emails. 5. Do you work with other organizations? Yes, we work with other organizations. As you are reading this post, we are currently working with the following organizations: • Project Hype • The “You Can Go to College” committee • Jamaica Hospital • The Jamaica Performing Arts Center • The Courtsmen As time goes on, we will be working with many other organizations that have similar, or the same goals as us. The desire to help our students become productive members of society is just one of our goals. No Limits is an organization that not only helps its students, but it also enables these same students to help others who are less fortunate than themselves. This goal is a priority to our organization and it is one of the goals that must always remain paramount in our minds, and in our hearts. Thank you again!