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What Does Tincan Do?

Tincan uses information technology and interactive media for education and community development.

Current Newsletter

From the Executive Director:

Tincan’s summer programs are in full swing.  Only a few camps have space in them: CSI/Game Development (July 20-31), InvenTech (August 10-21), and Sci-Fi Video Camp (August 10-14). Go to www.tincan.org/camps2009.htm for more information and to register.

Because we want to allow all those who are interested in participating in our programs the opportunity to do so without regard to their financial status, Tincan is always seeking donations to provide scholarships to students who need them.  Your business can sponsor our newsletter or be a program underwriter.. We’d be happy to send you more information about those opportunities if you contact us at tincaninfo@tincan.org.

We’ve also made it easy for individuals to donate without having to write a check or do an online donation. Tincan is a member of eScrip, a program for groups to raise funds through everyday purchases made at eScrip merchants. eScrip and hundreds of merchant partners, including Macys, Nordstroms, many grocery stores, eBay, and others, have created a system that rewards customer loyalty by contributing a percentage of purchases to our group. You shop the way you like to shop for groceries, clothing, travel and entertainment. The merchant gives us a small percentage of your purchase. The money isn’t added to your bill, it’s taken from the merchant partner as their donation. Participating is simple and convenient; all you need to do is register the debit/credit card(s) (or in some cases your customer card) you typically use for purchases.

• Log on to http://www.escrip.com and go to "sign up".
• Designate our group to receive contributions. Our Group ID is #500018120
• Register your debit, ATM and credit cards

That’s it! When you visit eScrip merchants to shop, we will automatically get their donation. The percentage donated is small, but the more people that sign up, the better we will do. Every bit of funding goes to help support our programs.

Donate online now!

Karen L. Michaelson, Ph.D.
Executive Director

subVERSive Showcase

The subVERSive Poetry Program culminated with a showing of all six films at the Magic Lantern Theatre on June 17th. Teens worked with professional poets to write spoken word poems about prejudice and create videos that reflected those poems, The films were powerful and represented each teen group with it's own unique voice.  All of the films included a similar message; this is who we are. Thank you to everyone who attended the showcase, and to our funders, The Inland Northwest Community Foundation. If you weren't able to be with us, you can view these short films at http://www.tincan.org/tincanyouthmedia/project_subversive.htm.

West Valley Contract Based Education Video Program

Tincan wrapped up its work for the year with West Valley Contract Based Education. We finished the drop out prevention video that was shown at the Drop Out Summit and received a standing ovation. To finish off the year, students were able to collaborate with each other in small groups to create their own videos. Because of the short amount of time students got to see first hand how important deadlines are, and just how fast they approach! We had two groups of students finish their projects in time for the final showing. Rob and Ryan did a video that documented people’s response to the question: “what would you do on your last day alive?” Rachelle and Meghan finished there video that explored the importance of music for students at CBE. Students throughout the year were able to learn important aspects of video, and for some, spark an interest that could lead to a career in the video field.

Greenacres Science Reporters Take Their Findings to Spokane County Commissioners

The Science Reporters club from Greenacres Middle School presented their video project to the Spokane County Commissioners Office. They spoke about their findings to the commissioners and showcased their video. Their project focused on  the Saltese Flats as a potential wetlands location. For the past several months under the guidance of teacher Michele Eickerman the Science Reporters visited Bud Morrison's property and interview Morrison on the history of his family and his perspectives on the proposed wetlands. They also interviewed Ben Brattebo, water resource specialist with Spokane County Utilities, on the feasibility of the project. This Science Journalism video shows  history, science, social and future impact. Check out this video and other Science Reporters projects at http://www.tincan.org/sciencereporters.  The Science Reporters project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Student of the Month: Simon Miller

Our teen spotlight focuses on one of our star student filmmakers Simon Miller. Simon is 18 years old and home-schooled. He recently took a job with the YMCA in Spokane Valley working with youth on their climbing wall. In his spare time he enjoys going to the movies and working out at the Y. Simon has participated in several Tincan film projects over the past 18 months including the most recent documentary about the teen music community and BOBFest.