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Surly Women Grants for TAM 2012

Remember last year when I “put my money where my mouth is” and used my mad-Surly-art-skillz™ to help raise money to send women to TAM?

I made a bunch of limited edition TAM9 necklaces and I promised I would use the profits to pay for at least one woman’s membership to last year’s event. With an amazing outpouring of support and generous donations, I was actually able to purchase 14 tickets for women who otherwise would not have been able to attend The Amazing Meeting. It was pretty gosh-darn great. It was one of those moments where I felt like we had literally made a quantifiable difference in people’s lives.

I organized the fundraiser for the grant program last year because there was and there still is a large gap in the amount of women who attend science and skeptic events when compared to the amount of men at these events and I wanted to do something to change that.

I realize that change doesn’t happen overnight and that one has to be dedicated towards making a difference. That means that you can’t just whack a piñata once. You have to keep at it if you want the sugary sweet prizes within. I want to taste the sweet, sweet flavor of victory mixed with the chewy, gooey, delicious caramel of equality. But I need YOUR help to break through the wrapper.

So let’s take another whack at it shall we?

 

Let's get more women involved in science and skepticism.

Once again, I personally vow to send at least one woman with my own hard-earned cash to The Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas. And with your help we can send even MORE!

 

How YOU can help me send women to TAM:

Go to my little online Etsy shop and purchase a limited edition handmade Surly-Ramics, “You can Make A Difference” necklace or two.  I will take 50% of the proceeds and personally donate that money to the JREF to pay for grants. Then, wear the necklace and show the world that yes, each and every one of us can help make a difference in someone’s life. Each of us can make the world a better place and one way we can do it is by encouraging women to participate in science and skepticism.

Donate directly:

Don’t want a limited edition necklace that will probably be worth millions someday? No problem. Go here to make a direct donation to the Women’s Grant program. Last year, I couldn’t make the donations tax deductable but this year with the help of the JREF if you donate directly at the link above you get all the benefits of a tax deduction AND you help me send even more women to the event! You can use any major credit card or even mail a check. Either way you choose to donate, you will be helping a woman who wouldnt normally be able to attend the event get a chance to go.

 

It's true.

How to apply for a grant:

First of all you need to know that this grant is ONLY for general registration for TAM 2012.  It will get you in to all the main talks each day of the event. If you are awarded a grant you have to provide your own transportation to and from the event and find your own place to stay.

I am doing this old-school style. Because that is how I roll. So please copy-paste the questions below into an email with the subject line: Surly Women’s Grant Application. Send the email to: [email protected]

Deadline to submit is June 30th 2012.  DO NOT apply unless you honestly can not afford to go to this event otherwise. Pease DO NOT apply unless you identify as a woman.

__________________

What is your first and last name?

What is your mailing address?

What is your phone #?

Are you a student? If so what do you study and what school are you attending?

Who wins in a fight, Tony Soprano or Jason Voorhees?

Do you have a blog or a website? Twitter?

Previous TAMS attended:

In fewer than 500 words each, please answer the following questions:

What is the coolest thing you have learned as a skeptic?

Who is/are your lady-skeptic heroes and why?

What is your favorite science topic?

If you could time travel what year would you go to and why?

What do you hope to get out of attending TAM?

EXTRA CREDIT #1: In under 140 characters, tell us what makes you awesome.

EXTRA CREDIT #2: In 5 words or less, how cute is this puppy?

 

 

__________________

 

That’s all for now. I will keep you updated on the progress of the grant program and let you know when selections are made just like I did last year. Each time I have enough money raised for a membership I will select a new recipient. PLEASE help spread the word by tweeting, blogging and facebooking about this. There is no way I can do this without help from the community. 

 

Thanks everyone and see you in Las Vegas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy Roth

Amy Davis Roth (aka Surly Amy) is a multimedia, science-loving artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. She makes Surly-Ramics and is currently in love with pottery. Daily maker of art and leader of Mad Art Lab. Support her on Patreon. Tip Jar is here.

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6 Comments

  1. Thank you for doing this. I’ll be attending TAM for the first time this year and am looking forward to it tremendously. Your jewelry is wonderful!

  2. This is excellent, and of course we will buy some (they are beautiful Surlies, too).

    Also, I just tweeted that CaveGal and I will donate an additional $10 to the cause for each SurlyRamic sold for this grant program.

    Initially, we will set a top donation limit of $400, but if that goes too quickly, we will raise the limit.

    This is a very worthy cause, and was crazy successful last year, so pitch in if you can! You’ll get an awesome one-of-a-kind piece of art you can wear out of it, too :)

  3. And I am in the process of making more necklaces. Should have a brand new batch up by the weekend!

  4. This has gone exceptionally well! Time to sweeten the pot again. For the next 40 Surlies sold for the grant program, CaveGal and I will donate an additional $10.

    Buy now and you can double your donation, and help send even more women to TAM2012!

  5. I wish I’d seen this sooner! :( I want to go to TAM, but just found out about it after seeing James Randi on a TED talk.

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