Hello, Team MOSS,

I want to thank you again for all of your help in our previous campaign and to ask if you would like to participate in another.  

MOSS continues to transform lives and change how science is done in Idaho. We need your help to purchase and upgrade our science equipment. As you may know, MOSS does NOT run operations with state funding, so your donations can have a huge impact on the sustainability of our high-quality programs. 

Over 35,000 k12 students served and more to go! 

Thank you and you can support us by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2VJNrvk and then giving or letting others know about our campaign. 

Cheers, 

~ Gary

#scienceinaction

Hello, All, 

The MOSS K12 Program is entering its fourth week of fall programming and the canoes look GREAT. It is a gift to run programming on Payette Lake and your support has helped us share that experience with 9 schools already this fall. Having a fleet of 3 BIG canoes makes a huge difference in how we get students on the water to do science. Your gifts help us further our mission to transform lives with innovative outdoor research and educational experiences. Thank you for getting our 20th year of programming off to a great start. 

Keep your eyes out for us on Payette Lake. 

Cheers, 

~ Gary S Thompson

Hello, All, 

I wanted to let you know that this crowdfunding effort is going very well and that we could not have gotten this far without your support. Now is the time to share with others why you believe in MOSS and why every donation makes a difference. 

"MOSS taught the kids more about science in one week than what they would experience in a full school year." - Kevin Boynton, teacher at Collister Elementary

"Students traditionally unsuccessful in the classroom are able to shine and build their confidence." - Stacey Hammer, teacher at Whitney Elementary

Our program annually provides over 2,500 K12 students with transformational educational experiences. A big part of those experiences includes exploring Payette Lake. This crowdfunding effort will help us to get even more students out on the water DOING science. 

Thank you, all.

Cheers, 

~ Gary

Hello, All, 

Your gifts and support of this crowdfunding effort, #paddleforscience, has carried us all the way to the 80% mark! We have seen donations come in from across the country and in a variety of amounts. We have received support from Cascade River Gear, Valley Wide Cooperative, and Pinetop Custom Homes/Rocky Mountain Cranes. Over 130 donations that have come from former graduate students, k12 alumni, parents, teachers, and others who believe in giving students transformative experiences in the sciences and natural inquiry. 

A recent comment of facebook reads:

12-year-old daughter had one of the best weeks in her life!!

The picture in this update shows some of the many inspiring faces of MOSS. This year alone we will serve over 2,500 k12 students from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Many of those included in that number are students from Valley and Adams Counties.

Thank you for supporting their experience and for continuing to share this effort with others who feel the same.

Cheers,

~ Gary 

Hello, All, 

Thank you for your generous support and incredible gifts. To date, we have received over 121 donations and have raised $12,650. This places us at 74% of our goal. I am asking for you to continue to support us by sharing the campaign with friends and family. Tell others why you decided to give and why you support MOSS. 

Share the site: https://uandigive.uidaho.edu/moss

The attached photo is of Whittier Elementary School students Mía Moreno, Gabriela Patlan, and Nour A. These students are the inspiring faces of MOSS. This is why I'm proud to be a part of a program that empowers young people with the tools of science, inquiry and critical thinking.

Thank you for making this possible.

~ Gary 

Hello, All, 

I have inspiring news and a big THANK YOU for Valley Wide Cooperative. Today they donated $1800 to our campaign. Valley Wide Cooperative has a long history of supporting the communities that they serve.

From https://www.valleywidecoop.com/:

Since 1920 Valley Wide Cooperative (VWC) empowers agricultural members to increase their bargaining power and gain market share to achieve economies of scale through its four divisions of business: Agronomy, Energy, Feed, and Farm Supply Stores.

Headquartered in Jerome, Idaho, VWC provides more than 60 communities with educational resources, high-quality products and services, and a strong sense of community. With 24 agronomy locations, 20 retail stores, 15 propane plants and two feed centers; farmers, ranchers and growers in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming benefit from monetary membership returns and affordable pricing.

We take price in serving those within our community. To date, we have donated more than a million dollars in the form of scholarships, grants and donations.

MOSS is proud to be a part of Valley Wide Cooperative's history of community service.

MOSS has always been a team effort and our success has always come from the work of many. This campaign and those who are participating and promoting it demonstrate a shared belief. A belief in providing all students with the opportunity for transformative educational experiences.

Thank you all, 

~ Gary

Hello, Team MOSS!

The scope and scale of the support shown for the #paddleforscience campaign have been overwhelming. K12 students, teachers, parents, companies, graduate alumni, and others have found common action that represents a belief in empowering students to DO science through incredible field experiences.

Cascade River Gear shares this vision and has pledged to supply all of the pfd's and paddles needed to outfit a Langley Clipper Canoe. This is a value of over $1500. This generous donation has two immediate impacts. One, we have a canoe! Our goal has been achieved. This coming year over 800 students will be able to experience DOING science in our aquatic classroom out on Payette Lake. Great job one and all. 

Two, our goal was achieved in a third of the time allotted. we beleive that with the two remaining weeks in the campaign, we can fund a second canoe! We can not do it alone, so please share what inspired you to participate with a few others. Thank you for your support.

As they say at Cascade River Gear, "Stay Splashy"

Cheers, 

~ Gary

In the last 24 hours, we have seen gifts ranging from $25 to $1000. Bringing us to a total of $6,668. As we get closer to our goal, we ask that you keep spreading the word. I looked at the map and we have almost half of the states represented. 

Can you help turn the rest of the map gold? The following states have yet to be represented, if you know someone there who supports science, education and being outside, please share our campaign. 

Nevada  Arizona New Mexico  North Dakota  South Dakota  Nebraska  Kansas Oklahoma Wisconsin Iowa  Missouri  Arkansas  Alabama  Florida  Tennessee  Kentucky  Indiana  Ohio  West Virginia  Maryland  Deleware  New Jersey  New York  Connecticut  Rhode Island  Vermont  Maine

Thank you all for your support. - Gary​

Hello, All, 

We are well on our way to a new canoe!. In roughly72 hours we have raised over $5000 dollars. INCREDIBLE. 

I have also noticed that support for the campaign is all over the board. Donations have been coming in a variety of amounts from a wide range of donors, such as graduate alumni, parents of k12 alumni, local community members, staff, faculty and other believers in getting students outside to do science. The donor map shows representation from coast to coast.

Thank you all for your support and keep spreading the word. 

Cheers, 

~ Gary