Archive:Stories: Difference between revisions

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 ;From our 2010-2011 Fundraiser:
+{{cquote| By the time I graduated High School in 1987, I had learned almost nothing.  For 18 years I had performed busy work and had been kept off the streets, but beyond the work of a few truly generous teachers I was a blank slate.  Television, comic books, and science fiction was the sum total of what I knew, and because of how schools taught, I found it deathly boring, and yet terrifying, since failure would mean my future would presumably also fail.
+One of my greatest frustrations about school, both high school and college, though to a lesser degree, was how difficult it was to find information on the few things that could hold my interest, and I was considerably more academic than most of the public school students.  I often shudder to think about the non-academic high school students who tested poorly in fifth grade and were forced to accept a track that would teach them little more than a single trade.  How do they find answers to the questions about the world?  It all seems quite unfair, excluding knowledge from the bulk of the population, or making it such a rigorous process that only those trained in research can succeed.
+In this regard, Wikipedia is a truly revolutionary site, and making free to use and so easy to use and interact with really sets it apart.  Even more than Public Radio, I think that Wikipedia is a crucial tool for our society as a form of self improvement and tool for learning how to find more detailed information.
+In another decade you will surely be supported by the millions of people you have allowed to succeed in ways they could never before imagine.  In another decade I will be proud to have given my support in these early years.}}
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+{{cquote|I can't remember when I found Wikipedia. When I finally registered to edit and discuss articles is documented but the impact it has had on my personal pursuit of knowledge is completely unmeasured. It has been one the most valuable resources I have encountered and I truly don't know what we would be doing without it. I wish I could give more, and maybe one day, I will. Til then, stay true to the pursuit of completely free, uncensored knowledge.}}
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+{{cquote|Wikipedia means freedom to me...The Freedom to not only take advantage of this wonderful vast amount of free information, but it also affords my teenagers opportunity to keep up with the ever changing, living maze of available information we are expected to stay on top of everyday.... right at their fingertips. School districts are increasingly adding assignment for children to complete as homework via the internet. Many of which require research on sites such as the one you had the incite to create.  When I was their age, we could only reference yearly or bi-annually encyclopedias, If your family was fortunately enough to afford a complete set. It affords my family the opportunity to share in the information world without imposing a financial burden on me, especially in today frail economy and high unemployment rates. We can hardly afford to eat and keep the utilities current and internet available because now having access to the World Wide Web is as important as having a local public library card.
+Thank you Mr. Wales for thinking of me and my family...}}
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+{{cquote|The story I write is not of me, but of my students who quench their need of knowledge through wikipedia. I teach in a school that is surrounded by riches but dominated by poverty. The young minds I teach yearn for knowledge and experience but are met daily with isolation and despair. Through wikipedia many of my students have learned about far away countries and their rich histories. Others have learned the myths surrounding the heavenly bodies they cannot physically perceive in the night sky. Yet their appetites are satisfied after using wikipedia. There is no other site I dare to visit or expose this young minds to. Thank you for all your hard work and effort in having much needed information at our fingertips. There isn't a day I go without using wikipedia to reference one thing or another.}}
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 {{cquote|My great grandfather who I am named after donated his lifes work and in the end his life at 35,a young age. He was born in Peru on a ship when his life began, ending in New York in 1895,where he was a research doctor in biology working on a cure for Cholera. I am honored with his name. I also want to do something for the good of mankind, so I donate this small amount  as be a part of a better world as you do with your free service. I am a Navy veteran from the Vietnam era and glad I served my country.}}