08/20/14

Dear Mr. Ochse and whom else it may concern,

My name is Paul Brandt, and I'm a senior at Lewis and Clark High School. As a sophomore, I was mildly involved with a program at Lewis and Clark called TechConnections. This program taught those students who were interested to build computers that were then donated to the community. Whether these valuable devices were used to simply search for a job, or used to supplement a child's education in a world where education is beginning to rely on technology more and more, these computers were obviously valuable to those who received them, almost always at no cost. I trust that I speak for all that were once involved in this club when I say that we, as students who carried the knowledge to help and simply needed a vessel to share it, enjoyed and miss that ability.

It is my understanding that at one point or another, TechConnections was struck down, at a District level.

My question for you, Mr. Ochse, is this: What can we do to get this valuable program back?

Perhaps it isn't TechConnections itself that I seek to revive, but rather a very similar program, requiring little to no school funding. My goal is not to create a district wide program. I believe that in order to succeed, we should start small, with a program exclusive to Lewis and Clark.

There is much left to be done to plan out a program like this. Supplies are an obvious need. I am willing to donate 3 computers that I have sitting in my garage with absolutely no use. I would rather them benefit somebody else who can use them, rather than simply recycle them as scrap metal. I have spoken with other students who are interested in a program of this type, and have offered up computers of their own as well. With some simple part exchanges and some software, we already have the ability to build a few computers and deliver them to the community.

Finally, I would like to offer the full cooperation of my business, Cyanide Computers. I am licensed to operate in the State of Washington, and using the business and networking connections I have, I can gather materials from customers who see no need for their computers any longer, as well as deliver working devices to people in need.

If this is something that you or any other administrators at Lewis and Clark are interested in supporting, please contact me. I would be glad to give you any information that you may need.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this request,
Paul Ethan Brandt
ID# 533187