FOG for Charities Contest

[Administrator_JSVN]

First, I want to begin by thanking the members and the moderators for collaborating to come up with ideas for our contests on the forum.  We got a lot of great ideas submitted and the moderators did a great job of consolidating the list and helping on the back end.

[thumbs up]

Now, on to the contest information...

It seemed to me like there's no better time than the present for us to come together as an online community and try to make a difference for those in need.  So, our first contest of the year will be centered around charity.  Peter and Forrest recommended that I make the announcement far enough in advance that members have a chance to ask questions and formulate ideas.  I think that having an entry deadline of 2 months should give everyone plenty of time.

Contest Rules

• The project must be donated to a charitable organization or someone truly in need, excluding family members and immediate friends.
• You may not get paid for doing the project.
• You may not submit a project you have already posted on the forum in the past.
• Entries must contain all items listed in the "How to Enter" section below.
• Contest entries must be posted by Sunday, April 11th, 2010.
• The contest is open to members in the US and Canada who are at least 18 years of age.
• Festool employees, dealers and affiliates are not eligible to win (but may choose to participate in the spirit of giving).
• Forum moderators are eligible to participate since they are forum members who donate their time here on the forum.
• Festool reserves the right to use the content from any entries in the SysNotes email newsletter or other marketing materials.

Prizes

• Grand prize: Festool T15+3 Cordless Drill Set (564250) valued at $575
• Second prize: An exclusive Festool Rack Systainer (NAINA) valued at $150
• Third prize: A five-disc set of Gary Katz instructional DVDs: Wainscoting & Paneling valued at $134.95

Winners will be selected by a panel of Festool employees and our honorary guest judge, Gary Katz, and announced by Monday, April 19th, 2010.  The Grand Prize will be given to the member who is deemed to have done the best job embracing the spirit of giving.  This is not a contest based on skill, but instead on good will.  Additional consideration will be given to projects with video and/or lots of photography.  Second prize will be given to a randomly selected entry which gives everyone a chance to win.  Third prize will be awarded to a randomly selected member from the list of members who contributed ideas for the contests.

How to Enter.

Members must submit their entries for the contest in the form of a post on the forum.  The post must include the following information at a minimum:

• One photo of a Festool tool being used for the project.
• One photo of the finished project.
• A written summary of the project consisting of at least 200 words.
• The name of the charity to which the project was donated.

Possible charities who accept furniture and similar donations

Contact your local charity of choice before beginning your project

• Humane Society
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters
• Salvation Army
• Goodwill
• Habitat for Humanity
• Churches
• Homeless Shelters
• Battered Womens Shelters

I hope we see good participation! Not because you have the chance to win something but because it's a good reason to do something for someone in need.  Charitable donations may be tax deductible - consult your tax adviser for details.

Feel free to post any questions you might have.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The contest is open to members in the US and Canada who are at least 18 years of age.

Hm.  [mad]

 

[justinmcf]

what a great idea shane!

even though i cant win anything.
but in the spirit of giving, i might have a crack at this one myself.
i am sure there are lots of charities close by that would love to have a new piece of furniture.

i think this will be a great contest, and i look forward to seeing all the fog members projects.
may the best man/woman win!!

regards, justin.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Shane that sounds like a well thought out contest with both a worthy cause and valuable gifts.  I applaud you and others that brought this together.

 

[Neill]

Forrest, Peter & Shane,

This sounds like an excellent idea.  Kudos to the three of you for coming up with it.

The real winners here are the charities and those woodworkers who can feel so gratified by willing to give their time and materials to a worthy cause.  That makes everyone a winner.

One question, does the firewood I generate using my Festools count?  I have tried to donate my projects in the past and no one wanted them.  I even put them out on the curb and the curbside cruisers didn't want them.  They are too smart for that.

Neill

 

[Chris Hughes]

Hey Shane, I'm finishing a project for the public school my kids go to.  Heres a judgement call for you guys.  Can we do charitable work for a government entity?

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Hey Shane, I'm finishing a project for the public school my kids go to.  Heres a judgement call for you guys.  Can we do charitable work for a government entity?

Chris, I think as long as the project follows the spirit of the contest which is donating your time and talents to help others then it's fine.

 

[Chris Hughes]

Thanks.

 

[peter halle]

In the thread that I started as a Desperate Moderator asking for contest ideas, it was asked by a poster:

What's the point of locking it? If anyone gets a great idea the day after tomorrow he can't post it anymore. Seems odd. Why should there be a deadline?

I posted a response just prior to locking the thread.  At that time I couldn't post another major reason why I took those steps.  But Shane revealed it in his announcement:

Third prize will be awarded to a randomly selected member from the list of members who contributed ideas for the contests.

Setting a deadline and then locking that thread was the only way that I saw to creatively help set the groundwork for an unannounced random contest with a distinct starting and ending point.  At the time I did that I did not know with certainty that the thread would become a contest.  But there was hope.

As this contest and the prize winners' selection process in this contest illustrates, you never know what is around the corner or the next thread, post, picture, video, etc.  ;D ;D

Peter

 

[spikfot]

This sounds great. Even though I'm over the Atlantic, I will cheer this on. There is a world of hurtin' people out there, and we are ALL related.
Thanks guys!

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

As things are going now in the carpentry world, I think I may be the charitable one.

Everyone wants me to do something for them for nothing, like donating my time to their cause.

Good idea but, I don't see how I can afford to work on something and not get paid for it as of right now.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

What a great idea!!  Congratulations to those who thought of this "contest" idea and to Festool for incentivizing it with such nice prizes, and to Gary Katz for his participation in judging.

Dave R.

 

[Chris Hughes]

Where do we post our entries?

 

[peter halle]

Right Here!

 

[Chris Hughes]

Oh, its on like Donkey Kong! [eek]

 

[Chris Hughes]

This is a little weird. The week the FOG revealed this contest I had decided to fix a problem at my daughters' school. Talk about timing. But that's how it works sometimes...

The layout on this entry is going to be backwards because the pics I'm going to post right now are of the finished product installed and being used. When I learned about the contest I had already assembled the benches and was set for paint, so I could not get pictures of process. IT has been brought to my attention that a different class room needs a bench for their children.

This project was inspired by my two year old and her wet pants. When the children come in at the beginning of the day they sit down and change their boots for their shoes. Well here in MI we have more that a little snow and as we all know, that will melt and our kids will be sitting in cold water. SO I set about to build something classic and fun that the kids would use to keep themselves dry for the day.

The Jr supermodel in the bottom picture is my lovely daughter Sophie.

 

[Chris Hughes]

Well I don't know how to post photos and text between them so I'll do this the long, hard way.  The benches are built of MDO so that they can take a little more moisture.

Charity is great.  I love it.  How else do we get solve the day to day problems that arise in our world?  Obviously there are problems that present themselves that test our abilities and our willingness to work outside of our templates.  When we can, we should serve others in a way that our gifts allow and that ease the lives of those in need.  Whether it is unloading semi-trucks filled with water, digging out people buried in collapsed buildings, or helping build a house for a family that needs a hand up, we can find a way to help.  Sometimes I think we overlook the small things right in front of us, things that we can solve in an afternoon and move the ball forward in a small way.  My feeling is that it is by solving/filling in the small details as we go we can use these small victories as force multipliers for the bigger challenges.

I try very hard to incorporate radius' and tapers in my work, so that was the inspiration on the lower portion of the benches.  I have found that 13" is a very good height for kids seating and I wanted to make the base as wide as possible so I kept that width at 13" as well.  I figured that I need about 12" to fit a kid's backside so I built the length for 4 kids to change their shoes.

Another thought that went into this design was weight.  A nounal bench for this use should be built to the wall or be heavy enough that they would not be easily tipped over.  The situation for this application is a little fluid because this is the last year for this building and maintenance staff doesn't appreciate cleaning around anything left in the hallway.  Portability was a factor.  Next year these benches will be moved to the newly remodeled building, into classrooms.

The last and most important factor in design for me is that we should always try to add value to the extent that our work has value beyond the price of its components.  When I built these benches I built them with the thought that someday my grandkids might use these in their classrooms.  Hopefully, between the ergonomics and the simple but elegant design, thy will be appreciated for many years to come.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Chris, very nice project. Great colors, I want one too for changing my boots. And thanks for breaking ice here. [thanks]

 

[Chris Hughes]

I feel like the couple figure skating.  I don't want to go first, but some has to and I had this one in process.  Thanks Brice.

 

[joraft]

The Jr supermodel in the bottom picture is my lovely daughter Sophie.

No fair! You're gonna win just with that great photo of the little cutie.  [big grin]