TL;DR – everything of value was stolen from our storage unit
Update 2023-02-17:
Amazon Wish List update: Thanks to donations from some wonderful people, we have 18 Weller soldering stations purchased! We only need 7 more and we will have all soldering stations replaced! We also now have a printer and toner for our Career Village! Thank you again for all your support.
We have also heard back from the insurance company and they’ve accepted our claim. Unfortunately, we had underinsured the storage unit but it will go to purchasing the remaining items on the list.
If you wish to donate, you can include a note if you have something specific on the wish list you would like to have those funds go to.
Update 2023-02-14:
We have our shipping address all set up and our Amazon wish list is live! You can view our wish list here: TDI Amazon wish list
The best ways to help are still reaching out to companies that might want to sponsoring us https://dianainitiative.org/sponsor or if you can donate https://www.dianainitiative.org/donate as that avoids us having to figure out shipping logistics!
Update 2023-02-10:
We are mid-way through the process with insurance. The claim is in, we have to file a police report as well as do one more paperwork and then we think thats done. We should be getting $2,900 back – and know for next year we need to increase coverage! (We’ll do an accurate update on inventory and costs of everything in unit and reach out once we start receiving items to see if we can do that remotely). We also know for future years to always get updated inventory and images.
We are working on a shipping address. None of the core staff are located in las Vegas. We decided to get a PO box for donations / receive packages (we don’t have an office and we don’t want to give out staff home home addresses and we want to avoid reshipping). Thus far it’s required $224.05 in notary services and $200 to get the mailbox for 3 months. Hopefully worth it! This should be ready by Monday.
We are working on an amazon wish list. It is done (has all the items) we just need to apply an address to it! (blocked by above)
The best ways to help are still reaching out to companies that might want to sponsoring us https://dianainitiative.org/sponsor or if you can donate https://www.dianainitiative.org/donate as that avoids us having to figure out shipping logistics!
Over the holidays I received a call from our storage unit. The unit door was unlocked, and open. They were wondering if we had been there recently. We had not. They agreed to place a lock on the door until I could visit and assess the situation.
This week I flew out to Las Vegas (usually I am in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). It was my first opportunity to visit.
I was hopeful, but, unfortunately, everything of value was gone. [update: Monday Jan 30 is the day I visited]
Over the years we have gathered more and more supplies making our life easier, in fact last year we got a a good number of nice things that were nice to have (hand trucks, printer). I failed to properly inventory and price the contents of the unit as we continued to add assets over time. As a result the unit is under insured. Even if insurance pays, we will still be behind. I will be reaching out to attempt to get what we can.
Each year we rush to grab everything from storage before the event, buy what we need, then shove everything back in quickly after the event. Often the “we” is “me” as other staffers and volunteers have other places to be (Like BSidesLV or DEF CON).
As a result of the rush, we don’t have a complete itemized list of what we had. We pieced together a list based on our purchase receipts from the past two years, and pictures of the inventory from two years ago.
This means we need to raise even more this year than we originally planned, and with the current economic situation it was already going to be an uphill battle. We always have a list of things we need, and a wish list of things we want to do if we can. That means we are even less likely to reach our wish list this year.
There are many important causes that need you this year. We understand you may not be able to help, but if you could reach out to your company about sponsoring us https://dianainitiative.org/sponsor or if you can donate https://www.dianainitiative.org/donate we would appreciate it, if you can not do either we would appreciate you boosting this to your network.
➔ We know that we are missing and need to replace
- 25 weller soldering stations https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077JDGY1J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
- Soldering Station accessories
- Tweezers https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0915PRHMT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
- 2 Hand trucks https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-600-lb-Capacity-Convertible-Truck-DC35081/207154933
- 2 tool boxes and tools
- scissors
- HDMI cables x2
- HDMI adapters for speakers x8
- Presentation clickers x6
- 3.5 mm extension x2
- 3.5 mm m/m cable x2
- Box cutters
- Plastic storage bins
- Ring light https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D5Z9YJJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1
➔ We are missing, but will make due without
- Large roll up sign
- P-touch label maker 79.99
- Brother toner printer color 299.99 & wires 30.49+15.29+20.39+16.09
- 5 chromebooks (registration, hybrid)
- 2 lockpick village kits https://www.toool.us/village.php
- Plastic 8.5×11 paper sign stands
- 5 chromebooks (registration, hybrid)
➔ We are missing, but will rent from the hotel
- 4 projectors
- 4 projector stands
- Kustom PA PA50 Personal PA System $119.99
➔ We are missing, but have canceled the CTF (Capture the flag) event this year so we won’t need these this year
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B098PW32S3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 rj45 ends
- 10 Hubs https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PFYM5MZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&th=1
- 2 Krimpers https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LH1JY2F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- box Cat5 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KO6WZIK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1
- Nighthawk router
- 2 Gigabit switches
Update 2023-02-02:
Thank you everyone offering to help!
We’re working on an amazon wish list to be posted soon for supplies we just need to sort where they are getting mailed to.
We’re hesitant to give out to strangers staffers home addresses (we have no office we are all volunteers with day jobs!) but are looking into reshipper services like https://www.myus.com/pricing/ so people could directly donate items. If you have a positive or negative experience with a reshipping service let us know.
Also if you have specific recommendations, or places to avoid, we are open to changing storage unit locations and/or companies.
The best way to donate is still reaching out to your company about sponsoring us https://dianainitiative.org/sponsor or directly donating https://www.dianainitiative.org/donate. Amazon, Office Depot, or Home Depot gift cards also would work.
Update 2023-02-06:
Thank you! We have over 3,000$ (almost 4!) in donations so far which absolutely gets us all our weller soldering irons (the MOST important item) – as we keep raising more we’ll keep working through the Maker Village supplies first, then our next priorities.
We have an offer to replace our laptops (registration and Q&A for streaming)!
We are discussing a possible donation to help cover our missing CTF gear for 2024!
We are working on an amazon wish list and should have it up soon.
The best ways to help are still reaching out to companies that might want to sponsoring us https://dianainitiative.org/sponsor or if you can donate https://www.dianainitiative.org/donate as that avoids us having to figure out shipping logistics!