OT- If PM were to give donation to charity with some connection to this trade...who..

would you recommend ? $1,000 for the season. Wounded Warriors was suggested, but there seems to be some scandal related to lavish spending by executives there. Any thoughts on them or other suggestions ?

Wounded Warrior Project accused of wasting donor money: 'It just makes me sick' - Washington Times

I'm not sure how this would relate to trade exactly, but I have read some wonderful stories of veterans, mostly WW II, that were able to participate.

Honor Flight Network

It is hard to think of a charity that is related to the machining trade. Only two things come to my mind.

A donation to a trade school to establish a scholarship fund for students studying the trade that need financial help.

The NRA. But that is a bit of a stretch.

I have made donations to the Wounded Warrior Project but have not heard that story about the misuse of funds. Has it been confirmed by any other news organizations?

I am high on First Robotics right now. They are world-wide. The highest level, which is for high-schoolers, can get in to machining, welding, CAD/CAM, plus all of the programming and electronics stuff. My son is into it, and I am mentoring in their shop on the weekends. They have a Haas TM-1 with ATC, MIG, and a Griz gear-head manual lathe. Richer schools have more stuff, more staff to take care of it all. FIRST Robotics Competition | FIRST.

EPAIII said:

A donation to a trade school to establish a scholarship fund for students studying the trade that need financial help.

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rklopp said:

I am high on First Robotics right now. They are world-wide. The highest level, which is for high-schoolers, can get in to machining, welding, CAD/CAM, plus all of the programming and electronics stuff. My son is into it, and I am mentoring in their shop on the weekends. They have a Haas TM-1 with ATC, MIG, and a Griz gear-head manual lathe. Richer schools have more stuff, more staff to take care of it all. FIRST Robotics Competition | FIRST.

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I would say try to find something to like these close to home. Swing by a trade school, high school shop, robotics team, etc and ask them if there is anything they need machine/tool wise. Maybe they need a new vise or some insert tools. I am really big on keeping it community centered since you can get to see the impact in person. You could also donate your time/machine time if they need something beyond their capabilities if it was reasonable for you to make.

Slightly off topic but a related point.

Many years ago a local wealthy business man started a trust in my town called the " Kenion " trust. It was administered by a local lawyers practice and was for the benefit of poor apprentices in the town. The idea was to provide tools for the young people involved in apprenticeships and who couldn't afford to buy them themselves.

A fellow apprentice was the only son of eight children and his dad was an invalid, maybe the two facts were related. He applied to the trust for a grant. He had to be interviewed by the trustees to ensure he was a deserving cause. They gave him a chitty to take to the local ironmongers shop to get a basic tool kit. He got the usual items, tool box, hammer, screwdrivers, Allen keys, set of spanners, etc.

I thought it was a great idea and a worthy cause. At that time it was regularly patronised I believe.

I don't know wether the trust still exists but given the current lack of serious apprenticeships in my town the demand on the trust will be next to nil.

Nowadays you can get an " apprenticeship " in Costa Coffee as a barista.

Regards Tyrone.

We have an industrial robotics class at a local high school that is funded with donations. $1k would help with peripherals for the robots (sensors, maybe a conveyor, etc). If you have other robotic type items that you'd like to donate instead of cash.... that works too - sensors, cables, small conveyors, small plc's, industrial camera systems, pneumatic cylinders / valves etc. The issues we face are having good tasks for the kids to do with the robots. All of that stuff requires funding or donations of both parts and time. PM me for details. And you would be donating directly to a county school system where zero of the money is used for overhead - all of it gets used directly for the students.

IMHO it should not be about USA military in any way, this place is international, its a machinist website, your choice of wars and those injured in them is on you, not the rest of us. This site should stay neutral from that kinda stuff. Same with funding towards the NRA or any other political party, this place should stay out of it, its not what the place is about.

It should be towards pushing this industry forwards, ie apprenticeship or brining hands on type learning to kids. School robotics projects????? Something that brings new blood into this game and is politically neutral and ideally some what international even. Theres plenty of those kinda groups out there that would benefit from some funding at any level.

The Siller foundation is a great organization. Very little money goes towards administrative costs meaning the money goes to the people who need it. Many homes built for war heroes...

Stephen Siller Tunnel To Towers FoundationStephen Siller Tunnel To Towers Foundation

''If PM were to give donation to charity with some connection to this trade...who.. ''

Funny you should ask that .......I'm sure my bank manger thinks I'm running a charity and not a business.

J Gilles said:

I would say try to find something to like these close to home. Swing by a trade school, high school shop, robotics team, etc and ask them if there is anything they need machine/tool wise. Maybe they need a new vise or some insert tools. I am really big on keeping it community centered since you can get to see the impact in person. You could also donate your time/machine time if they need something beyond their capabilities if it was reasonable for you to make.

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Have you ever been to Beaufort, SC?

Seriously though, I will second (third, fourth) donating to a high school shop.

EPAIII said:

It is hard to think of a charity that is related to the machining trade. Only two things come to my mind.

A donation to a trade school to establish a scholarship fund for students studying the trade that need financial help.

The NRA. But that is a bit of a stretch.

I have made donations to the Wounded Warrior Project but have not heard that story about the misuse of funds. Has it been confirmed by any other news organizations?

Click to expand...

As many of you may know, Mike Rowe (from "Dirty Jobs" and "Somebody's Gotta Do It") has created a foundation to provide scholarships to those looking to pursue a skilled trade, instead of college. Profoundly Disconnected

Scholarships for students at tech schools teaching machining. Ask that the awards be given to students who need the money to be able to attend classes.

Jim

too easy, engineers without borders, if non trade related how about shriners?

^ Did not know that existed, though as practical machinist, following age old shop practice, surely funding more pencil pushers is the last thing we want to do :-)

If I wanted to give $1,000 I would find a First Robotics club. (I do personally for 4 years now)

What they need is not complex. What they need is someone to show up a couple times a week for a few hours and help teach them pretty basic mechanical skills. How to use a band saw, how to tap a hole, how to push a broach, etc.. Many high school kids have never personally turned a screwdriver. They need to learn Righty Tighty.

We hope to get them to the point that we can let them go to the mill and drill a hole pattern in a piece of aluminum square tube well enough for 10-32 screws to fit.

Most clubs will need no end of donations! I've given our club a non ferrous saw, a DRO, AXA tool post set, chucks, clamps, vises, etc...

I've been selling their stuff they had that they will never ever use. like bench centers, lathe parts for lathes they no longer have etc... to reinvest in fixing their mill/lathe or buying more tools.

Tonytn36 said:

We have an industrial robotics class at a local high school that is funded with donations. $1k would help with peripherals for the robots (sensors, maybe a conveyor, etc). If you have other robotic type items that you'd like to donate instead of cash.... that works too - sensors, cables, small conveyors, small plc's, industrial camera systems, pneumatic cylinders / valves etc. The issues we face are having good tasks for the kids to do with the robots. All of that stuff requires funding or donations of both parts and time. PM me for details. And you would be donating directly to a county school system where zero of the money is used for overhead - all of it gets used directly for the students.

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Tony, I dislike "pm's" (my box is always full anyway)....would you click "contact us" at the bottom of the page with the scoop ?

Tonytn36 said:

We have an industrial robotics class at a local high school that is funded with donations. $1k would help with peripherals for the robots (sensors, maybe a conveyor, etc). If you have other robotic type items that you'd like to donate instead of cash.... that works too - sensors, cables, small conveyors, small plc's, industrial camera systems, pneumatic cylinders / valves etc. The issues we face are having good tasks for the kids to do with the robots. All of that stuff requires funding or donations of both parts and time. PM me for details. And you would be donating directly to a county school system where zero of the money is used for overhead - all of it gets used directly for the students.

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Does the stuff have to be new in box? I've got a storage unit full of the stuff. I normally sell it on Ebay, but as I get more organized, if the teacher is looking for something in particular, or needs specific items, they are more than welcome to send me a message.

Even better, have them post a message in the classifieds when they need stuff. I imagine with the diversity of this group, we all have a little something in our hoard that we'd be willing to send off for a program like this in need.

I for one would LOVE to see some posts from the teacher.

Do you happen to know what flavor PLC's they try to use?

Either way, Milacron...thank you for the post. Pretty awesome consideration!

Giving is very much alive & well, maybe play this out, let it mature a bit and possibly involve members. The wonderful part is people are very thankful for generous neighbors in my experience and it’s gratifying to be recognized.

I’m involved with a 501c8 and two 501c3’s (IRS code). The c8 is a fraternal organization and the c3s are strictly charitable. The c8 is a smallish lodge that manages to distribute (last year) about $23k per year locally from income plus 4-5 scholarships (depends) and acquire another $10k in grants for local distribution. Feels pretty good when you can disburse more than the little group takes in on dues.

The c3,s are one very large with about a 6% load, mostly for professional advice and the other smaller with less than a .09% load. All the c3’s financials’ are published and searchable so it’s easy to spot the bad players. People like the Shriners and St. Judes might appear to have a large load but they maintain hospitals and pay for active research. When you tunnel deep in the data they have a mind numbing # of volunteer hours, and when multiplied by the IRS dollar/hour value brings them into very favorable light.

The schools… Local knowledge is crucial, we are less fortunate in our CC than ICC to the east (Peoria) or the one to our north. Both the welding and the machining programs are basket cases & I’m pretty vocal about it, so we withhold any scholarships to Sandburg trade classes mentioned for the time being. That said, ALL the shop programs out there pretty much beg for supplies and some sort of support. I’d say if the administration seems like they are serious about these crafts, go for it.

If you do something, then posting a pic with the recipient would be cool (OT of course).

Good luck
Matt

rklopp said:

I am high on First Robotics right now. They are world-wide. The highest level, which is for high-schoolers, can get in to machining, welding, CAD/CAM, plus all of the programming and electronics stuff. My son is into it, and I am mentoring in their shop on the weekends. They have a Haas TM-1 with ATC, MIG, and a Griz gear-head manual lathe. Richer schools have more stuff, more staff to take care of it all. FIRST Robotics Competition | FIRST.

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That's an XLNT idea, I would also support the FIRST program, a lot of kids learning how to machine through it.

One of the local kids learned how to machine through the FIRST project (3 years), went on to go to school studying machining at WPI, and ended up with a job at a large manufacturing company.