At the budget-crunched Brooklyn public high school where I teach VJ-U (the art of live visual performance), batteries and memory cards for the school’s cameras are in very short supply. Recently I dug up my older, smaller memory cards and donated them to the school. If you have a spare SD or xD memory card or a pack of AA batteries you could donate, it would help these very talented, ambitious students to develop their skills and ability to express themselves through photos and video. You can send them directly to the school at:

Urban Assembly School of Music and Art
Attn: Diana Hernandez
49 Flatbush Avenue Extension Fl 8
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Corrected Correction: the school has a couple battery rechargers that charge NiMH batteries (NOT plain vanilla alkaline) so donations of NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries would be ideal.

If you’re questioning whether the school really can’t afford $40 worth of cards or batteries, here’s why. The NY Department of Education requires schools to make equipment purchases through approved vendors. Many (if not all) of these vendors think, “Oh, the DOE has tons of money” and charge prices well above market rates. For a 1GB memory card that might cost you fifteen dollars, they might charge a school forty or fifty dollars.

Update

Unfortunately the school doesn’t have enough space for more desktop computers. If you have a Mac laptop that you’d like to donate, they can probably fit it in one of the COW carts. Thanks again to those of you who are donating! Happy New Year!