We are having a copy run in Spalding County, Georgia on July 15 & 16. I have Laura & Greg Nalesik from Atlanta, GA coming. Greg will be helping with photography chores. Glenna and her husband will also be coming. I look forward to having Glenna's experience with us. Our other photographer will be Tammy Wilson who heard about us though Clayton State. And my Wife, Marge will be coming to keep me straight.
CBS Atlanta ran a story on the copy run.
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/14905293/volunteers-help-restore-storm-victims-personal-items (http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/14905293/volunteers-help-restore-storm-victims-personal-items)
Since this has been shown throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area I don't know how many people will be coming. Also this will probably be the only copy run in the Southeast, so I want to be prepared for a large turn out just in case. So We are looking for more help locally, particularly photographers. So if you want to come, we should could use you. Send me a message though OPR if you are interested. This will be a great opportunity to help some people bring back some memories.
David Gr
Nice television spot David! Word about OPR is really getting out there on a lot of fronts lately. All the best with your copy run.
Great job, David! I think this will help and we have new volunteers signing up that saw you TV interview.
Margie
Great interview David!
Wish I could be there to help out in July, sounds like a lot of fun.
Hannie
Way to go David, to get the word out to the community. A very nice interview.
Thank you all for the kind words and support. We all do what we can within our limited capabilities. We are a team who rely on and support one another to get some memories back to people who have had irreplaceable photos violently taken from them. That to me is a good reason to get up in the morning.
David Gr :up:
Well today, I bit the bullet and handed out flyers for the Spalding County, GA copy run. I handed out 18 flyers to:
Churches
Gas stations/convenience stores
Post office
Fire department
Barber shop
Grocery store
The responses ranged from thankful and enthusiastic to much less. I am going to mail some flyers out to some churches that weren't open.
Here is a list of the supplies I have purchased so far.
Paper towels
Black foam board 20 x 30" 3 each
Glass cleaner 1 btl
Sticky notes 1 7/8" x 1 7/8" 2 blocks
Sticky notes 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" big block 2.5" deep
Batteries rechargeable AA 12 each
Portable hard drive 320 GB 1 each - on sale at Walmart
Stick pens 10 each
Permission forms 125 each
Hand sanitizer 3 bottles
Glass panes - non or low reflective to be purchased-photo frame place?
Scotch tape 1 dispenser
Screwdriver & pliers
Duct tape for lights
Folders letter size 24 each
Have I missed anything? :-\
Our preparations are going well. It won't be long now before July 15 & 16.
It's not too late for anybody in the Atlanta area to join in. :)
David,
I wish you would have told me what you were buying as I always send supplies such as what you have purchased below. When you were on the Austell run, did you not remember the boxes that were shipped with all the supplies. The one exception would be the glass and the need to purchase a couple of black poster boards.
I will be mailing your supplies with lights and t-shirts soon, but now I wonder if I should pull all of the supplies you have already purchased?
Happy to hear you are getting good responses. I would make a point to get in contact with the Salvation Army and test the waters with the Red Cross. Also, any FEMA offices are going to be a good place to get the word out.
Margie
Margie,
No problem with the supplies. Just send the ones I don't have listed.
Since I don't have travel expenses, I can afford the supplies. Oh yea, I added cloth measuring tapes to the supply list at Glenna's suggestion. Can you think of anything I am missing?
That's about it for now. Let me know what you think of the idea I sent you by separate message.
Thanks.
David :)
David,
Thanks I appreciate it and that will save weight on shipping, but I didn't mean for you to pay for it out of pocket. OPR will reimburse you and also help pay for lunches for all the volunteers during the two days.
I will also send the cloth dressmaker tape. in the box I am shipping will be 5 templates (on stiff card stock) that have the inches marked up to 13 in on one side and at a right angle to that will be marked up to 10 in.. My sister came up with the idea on the Cedar Rapids run and it is so fast compared to using a tape as all you have to do is put the photo on the template.
I will also make sure that you have lightweight gloves to put on should you have some really dirty photos. This was more of a problem with photos in flooded areas.
I will answer you on your other email.
Thanks,
Margie
To the photographers/copiers going on the Spalding copy run,
I know it is a lot to ask of you but I will try anyways:
When you come across a photo that has really bad folds/dents could you photograph/copy it one more time but then turned feet up (180 degrees)?
There is a great method to repair this type of damage, very easy and very fast.
Thanks and good luck!
Hannie
Thanks for the advice. I will pass it on.
Anything we can do to make it better is our goal.
David Gr :up:
Wow, all, it sounds as if things are progressing well. IM and I have our accommodations and travel plans firmed up, and we're pretty sure our granddaughter is going to do cat sitting duty for us. I'm so excited about being able to finally get to another copy run, and IM is pumped about being part of this one, too.
David and Margie, I know that OPR pays for supplies, but if we can bring anything, we'll be glad to.
We're looking forward to meeting everyone and having a great copy run. BTW, I don't know if you are interested in this, but I wrote a daily journal on the Biloxi run to give our volunteers an idea of what happens while we collect photos, since many of you are so far away. I'll be glad to do it again, unless I bored you to tears with the last one. Let me know.
Hugs!
GK
GK,
We all enjoyed reading about the Biloxi run, so I know this copy run will be no different. It gives everone a feel for what it is like. It's great that you and IM are going.
Margie
GK. I loved your report on the Biloxi copy run! It would be great if you could find the time to do the same on the Spalding run.
Hannie
GK it would be wonderful if you could find the time to keep a daily journal for those of us who would love to join you on the Spalding County copy run but are unable to do so. Thank you so much for your generous offer.
GK
I too thank-you for your generous offer. Reading the Biloxi run journa at that timel didn't make me feel too left out not being there to help.
:hug: thanks
GK you have to do the journal! How else am I going to share the experience? :hug:
That's right! Us poor stay at home volunteers want hear every detail of what goes on in Spalding!
Hannie
Yes, definitely, a journal. We need our fix!
Glenna, that would be BOFFO! :hug:
Margie,
When I received your box for the copy run, our cat Neko had to inspect it to make sure everything was cat approved.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w97/david_gr/Miscellaneous/IMG_1478.jpg)
I thought everyone would get a kick out of it. (It is hard to believe our poor Neko was left on the side of the road when we found him.)
Maybe he wanted to go too!
David,
Oh no! I forgot to pack Neko's OPR t-shirt! At least he liked the box. :)
Margie
That is so funny, Neko looks beautiful. Watch out that Neko is not in the box when you pack up to leave!
Hannie
Yeah Hannie. I think Margie would keep Neko.
Well, tomorrow is the big day everybody. Wish me and all my folks luck. :)
Have fun! Keep in touch!
Tori
Good luck!
Good Luck David and bring back lots of photos!
Margie
David, I hope a lot of people show up!
Good luck!
:loveit:
Hannie
Hope everything goes well and you get a great turnout.
Best wishes David! I'm going to be sitting here glued to the forum waiting for your first reports. Get us some easy ones.
Pat
Well folks, the copy run did not go well. We had one lady, Mrs Askew who brought in 3 pictures. I don't know what I could have done differently except maybe hold the copy run in a different more central location. It was held at a fire station in a rural part of the county near where much of the tornado damage was done. Looking back, I should have tried for the local library or the VFW in Griffin, GA. I had two television interviews, one on the local CBS affiliate and one with the local NBC affiliate this past Friday.
http://www.11alive.com/news/article/197820/40/Free-help-to-save-storm-victims-precious-memories (http://www.11alive.com/news/article/197820/40/Free-help-to-save-storm-victims-precious-memories)
I had articles in the local newspaper both a month before and this past week. The Mrs Askew came as a result of a newspaper article. I also had ads running on the local radio. I distributed about 15 flyers to local stores and churches. I don't know what else I could have done? :-[
I want to thank Spalding County particularly CPT Glenn Polk, for their support with the newspaper and radio press releases and the use of the fire station.
The good news is that we get to help the Mrs Askew who had pictures of her mother and grandmother that were about 30 years old. That to me makes it worthwhile since Mrs Askew will get some precious photos restored. We also got some good media exposure for OPR and Margie tells me that we have a new member as a result of that media coverage. My wife, Marge and I made some very good friends with Tammy Wilson and Brenda Fayard. I want to say thank you for all your support particularly Margie Hayes who held my hand throughout this experience.
So I while I wish that I had better results, I am glad that I tried. :)
David, a big thank you to you and your group. I think the location might have played a part, but also it may have been too soon for a copy run. The biggest problem after a disaster is getting the word out to people. You covered all the bases with press releases, but some families may be out of touch and even from the area.
You and your group deserve a round of thanks and a pat on the back. You took the time and effort to help and that is very much appreciated! You also got the word out about OPR and you may still get some request later for help.
:hug:
Margie
Thanks to you David and your crew for caring and giving it your best! :wnw:
I think both you and Margie are right about the possible reasons for the low show.
Perhaps a repeat at a later time and a different location...
:loveit:
Hannie
Thank you David (and crew)! It was a great effort and we appreciate your hard work. As Margie and Hannie point out, maybe we can figure out the differences between this run and previous runs and keep them in mind for another copy run later on.
Tori
David, wonderful job - turnout notwithstanding. And Neko is gorgeous. I can't imagine someone throwing him away. But then, what a gift for you and Margie. He certainly earned a t-shirt, given his attention to detail in inspecting the box.
I'm so sorry that we had to be no-shows. As it turns out, not only did I get sick, but our car got damaged, and we wouldn't have been able to drive up anyway. Bummer all the way around. And I'm so sorry I didn't get to write a "Boffo" (Pat that is such a wonderful word!) journal. My inner compulsive writer was looking forward to that, as well as all the other rewards of being on a copy run.
If you think another run at a future time would be viable, we're up for trying it again. I can't imagine that you could have done any more in the way of getting word out, but it's possible that the remote location was an issue for some folks. And I wonder if many people are still out of touch because of the damage. You, however, deserve our gratitude for taking on the leadership of the operation.
Bless you for taking charge of the run, and I'm hoping that we get to meet on another one. Please let me know if you decided to try again at a later date.
Hugs!
GK
Thank you all for the kind words. :)