Contest: Tuba-to Nation
110K is just over that next rise — $107,329 right now. We can make that by Sunday, right? Hell, we can make that today. The more we raise by Sunday, the more we could receive from those good-hearted beauties at HP. Please consider donating in the next few days; if you can’t, could you please hit the ShareThis button and let a friend, neighbor, or pet with thumbs and a credit card know about today’s mini-prizes?
And now: let’s get brassy. Donors to “It’s Tuba Time” can receive one of five (5) little knitted tomatoes (aw), or one of five (5) copies of the University of Colorado marching band’s CD (rock), compliments of reader Jess F.
Donors to ANY project today, meanwhile, could win one of ten (10!) $10 Amazon gift cards. Just forward those receipts to me by 11:59 PM ET.
110K is no problem. 120 would be HOT. Lots to win, lots to do, let’s do it!
Tags: contests Team Tomaaaato fuck yeah
I was really hoping we would get to this one! I played a tuba in my high school marching band. They are so important to the band but really expensive. Thank you for helping this one out!
And by the way, $110,000 today, of course we can!
I got paid today, so I’m in. Can we have a challenge to get to $120? Maybe a promise of cats + tomato costume?
Oh, man. I can never resist an instrument project. Tubas rule!
Not to be a pain in the ass, but for the life of me, Sars, I cannot find your email address on the site. At least in my browser there’s no ‘contact’ button I can see, it’s not in the about page. I’m sure it’s around here somewhere, but I can’t find it. sarah@tomatonation.com? sars@yahoo.com? sarah.d.bunting@tn.com? I know I sent you a Vine comment some half a decade ago, but I don’t think I have that email any longer.
Marching bands need Tubas, if only to give the clarinet section something to laugh at when the scoreboard plays The Maracrena. (Not that I ever laughed at Macarena-ing Tuba players or anything…..)
It’s on the About page on the top right — bunting at tomatonation dot com.
Anybody else just spending Friday hitting refresh on the totals page?
Donated and Facebooked. I’m a former marcher myself (go guard!) and I’m hoping some of my fellow band geeks will be inspired to chip in.
@Stormy – Your scoreboard played music?? That’s one schmancy football field! You didn’t by any chance grow up in Texas? Some (actually, quite a few) of the high school stadiums down here are unreal.
@smark: Yup. Unless you’re my director; then, no.
A pet with thumbs and a credit card?!?!? Classic October madness on Tomato Nation. BET RED!
@smark – I’ve been doing that all week. My co-worker & I are officially obsessed.
We should hit $110,000 by close of business today!
Another former tuba player here, and I couldn’t say no. Marching bands need tubas, it’s like a law or something!
Thanks, Sarah. It must be my browser, because it’s not on the About page when I look at it. (I just looked again to make sure I hadn’t just missed it). Weird.
@smark – Why… no. No, not at all. I’m spending Friday doing completely legitimate work at my computer. Ahem. As you can see. Why do you ask? :D
Awww – my dearly departed Dad was a brass player, and particularly loved the tuba. (Any Buckeyes out there? He dotted the “i” !). Off I go to donate in his honor/memory.
JeniMull, I live in Northwest Ohio but I don’t think I count since I’m both originally from Wisconsin and trying to get OUT of Northwest Ohio! I know there’s at least one other reader from this general area, too.
It’s official: I have my credit card number memorized. This could be dangerous.
But how could I resist a project with a Billy Joel song in the title?
http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=310440&challengeid=23248
Grace: College football in Montana. However, my old high school got a scoreboard that played Charge! the year after I transferred out of it. It was in Oregon, but the win/loss ratio for the 1980’s was 101 wins, 13 losses and 1 tie, so it was like being in Texas.
I love hearing the reasons for each donation: “my dad played the tuba,” “my mum taught that grade,” “I went into chemistry because of the same neat experiment,” “my teacher inspired me to become an artist,” “I used to live near that school,” “that was my favourite book,” etc. A hundred thousand stories.
Uh oh, we have some company for the HP Matching money:
http://www.avc.com/
I imagine a lot of blogs are saying the same. Let’s defend our percentage ladies and gentlemen!
Something to think about:
Currently TN has raised slightly above 41% (something like 41.08%, at the moment) of the total Social Media take. Assuming that they work with exact percentage matches, we’re on track for a donation of about $82,000 come Sunday. If we raise $120,000 by Sunday AND hold onto our percentage, that puts us only $8,000 away from the stunt goal.
Dun dun.
110K- All. The. Way!
Origawesome!
You did it again, TN is amazing and totally wonderfully awesome. I’ll go help with the 120K.
@JeniMull: OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD! I was raised in Columbus by an OSU alum, am a huge Buckeye fan, and marched four years with my high school band. I know all the words to the signature TBDBITL songs and get excited every time I hear “Le Regiment.” I cannot begin to express to you how MONUMENTALLY AWESOME I think it is that your dad got to dot the “i”. So. Very. Cool.
@Stormy: Aw, I’m sorry you didn’t get to enjoy your high school’s new board. Similar thing happened to me – after four years of pretty dull football action, the team suddenly got really good and went into the playoffs the year after I graduated!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go find “Hang on Sloopy” on my iPod.
@GracieGirl: You just made my day/week/month. My Dad died 4.5 years ago in a massive pileup after a freak whiteout in MI. I miss him all of the time – but something about someone else recognizing his OSU accomplishment has just reduced me to a puddle. I am weeping at my desk. When I recover, I’m going to print out your comment and keep forever & ever. Thanks.
I just wuv the Tomato Nation.
This was a project I found when I was first introduced to DC and I have been following it because I played tuba my senior year of high school and it is dear to my heart. Today, TN has literally raised 20% of all the money they need. Thank you so much to everyone. This is truly an exceptional community.
@smark: Yes! I love watching the contest widget just to see some of the reasons people give for giving to particular projects – especially when I can recognize the project from the reason.
I know I always start out thinking I’ll apply some sort of well thought-out prioritization (“this year I’ll fund math and science projects in my state” or some such), but in the end, it’s always something personal that grabs me – a book I loved or something I saw happening in my kindergartener’s classroom this week (ahem: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=293762&challengeid=23248).
@smark: f5f5f5f5f5f5f5f5
@JeniMull I’m a Kent State but the daughter, granddaughter and sister of buckeyes. My mom was in the old card section, but we love the band. Dotting the i is awesome!
@Amanda-intern-etc. Northeast Ohio here!
October at Tomato Nation, a.k.a. BawlFest 2009.
@JeniMull: I’m so sorry for your loss (and that I made you cry!), but I’m happy to be able to contribute a little something to keeping your dad’s memory alive. You better believe I’ll be thinking of him and this story whenever I watch Script Ohio in the future!
Yay, we beat the $111,352 from last year! And it’s only the 23rd. Rock on…
@JeniMull: I also am an OSU alumni; I am going to the game tomorrow. If–no, when,TBDBITL dots the i, I will remember your father, and imagaine his excitement at that honor.There are tomatonationers in every state; we all want students to have the same joy in learning that we did
I just dropped some more bucks on this project. So glad to see it WILL get funded. Those tubas grow up to be sousaphone players that both annoy and delight college marching band members around the country. I just marched as a member (tenor sax) of Iowa’s alumni band few weeks ago and it’s always so cool to see all the sousie players that come back every year with their decorated horns. Go tubas!