

Nano-hack 19yro runs kids code camps rather than making dotcom $. Needs donation - usiegj00

tl;dr you should donate to him here:<p>http://comicmac.com/help-me-setup-dojos/<p>I met him (James Whelton) once when he detailed his Nano-hacks (at age 17) at Dublin Web Summit. Then again recently (at age 19) where he discussed his home-grown coder dojos that are teaching thousands of kids throughout Ireland and now the US how to program in unpaid after-school workshops. He's inspirational and the best of coder conscience. He's paid a trivial weekly stipend and paying for travel out of pocket. I've donated. Your turn:<p>http://comicmac.com/help-me-setup-dojos/
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andr3w321
Why doesn't he just charge the kids' parents a small fee for the service he is
providing?

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thepreacher
I agree, parents should be asked to pay a small fee. The cost of a burger will
not be bad. I am planning on starting something like that in my children's
school if the head will agree. In order not to disadvantage the really needy
families, I don't mind teaching such children for free, but that need must be
proven in order to stop abuse.

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whelton
Hey, so there is a couple of reasons we run it for free. Firstly theres no
entry barrier, young people from all backgrounds come and kids that don't have
laptops we try have spares to let them use. Money we found generally
complicates things (where is it going, is there transparency, some locations
start wanting rent money, etc). Some people find it hard to grasp also, but
free youth activities in Ireland are extremely common.

Regarding abuse, people using it as a glorified babysitting service, etc. We
have a rule that if a kid is 12 or under, they must have a parent or guardian
there responsible for them. As we're extremely over booked (waiting list of
200 in Dublin), we reserve spots for extremely interested kids, who keep
coming back and producing things and leave other slots open. If a kid is being
disruptive and won't stop, we tell the parent to calm them down (Extremely
useful when working with kids that have autism as some have behavior issues
that parents can address there and then)or to take them home.

To date, running it for free has worked extremely well and in every Dojo,
theres been little, if no issues. People are volunteering, giving up their
time for free and volunteers are normally blunt with parents if its being
abused.

We try to remove as much financial dependency from CoderDojo so its easier to
set up anywhere and run, individual Dojos can arrange donations or sponsor if
they want. In my case, I'm looking for some assistance if people want to give
it, helping me setting them up.

@thepreacher thats awesome that you're starting something! If you want a hand
please drop me an email: james@coderdojo.com, theres definitely some advice on
things we've learned and resources we can give you!

