The "VSLive! Gives Back" program gives conference participants an opportunity to make a positive contribution to the host community in the short amount of time they spend there.

GIVING BACK MICROSOFT HQ

The Visual Studio Live! Microsoft HQ Conference is proud to announce its alliance with Communities in Schools Seattle & Stuff the Bus as its "VSLive! Gives Back" partner.

At Communities in Schools Seattle, our goal is to provide all of the supplies that every child needs at our 10 partner schools. Every summer Communities In Schools of Seattle teams up with partners like you from across the Seattle Metropolitan Area to embark on one of our most ambitious and successful projects, Stuff The Bus. From June through August, CIS of Seattle collaborates with partners to collect basic school supplies for K-12 Seattle public school students. At the end of the summer, thousands of supplies are given directly to schools to distribute to low-income students. By providing these basic needs at the start of each school year, we effectively eliminate a significant barrier that keeps students from staying in school and achieving a successful future.

WHY STUFF THE BUS

Families spend, on average, $100-$200 per child to purchase essential school supplies for the first day of school. Add one or two more school-aged children in the household and the expense quickly rises. This extra cost is especially burdensome for low-income families, but the cost of school supplies does not only land on families. On average, an elementary school teacher spends about $400 each year out of pocket to provide supplies for their students. Stuff The Bus supports both families and teachers.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We also want to encourage you - our conference attendees - to donate in-kind donations that directly benefit the Seattle youth at Communities in School Seattle by donating the following items on their wish list:

• Sturdy Backpacks
• Pencil Pouches
• Composition Notebooks
• Mechanical Pencils
• Student Planners (mid to large size)
• Zipper Binders
• Lined Paper
• Pencils
• Graphing Calculators
• Sticky Notes
• Dry Erase Markers
• Highlighters
• Pencil sharpeners
• Erasers
• Glue sticks
• Rulers
• Pens
• Art Supplies (markers, colored pencils, paint and paintbrushes)
• Scissors
• Printer Paper
• Staplers
• Boxes of Tissues
• Dry Erase Markers

Look for the Gives Back Donation Box sign near the Visual Studio Live! Registration desk, or ask a staff member how you can help. The VSLive! Conference Team will deliver all donations at the end of the week.

VSLIVE! CONFERENCE BAG DONATION

Visual Studio Live! provides bags to all attendees to carry laptops, notepads, pens, and other pertinent items around while you are at the conference. The bags can also serve as useful souvenirs to take back home or to the office to remind you about the great conference you just attended. However, not everyone needs a new backpack.

If you don’t need a new bag (or don’t want to take the bag home after using it for the week) and prefer it gets donated to a good cause, you can place your bag in the Give Back Box and your conference bag will be donated to the Communities in School Seattle organization.

For more information on the "VSLive! Gives Back" program or how you can help, contact our Conference Registrar Joyce Jackson at jjackson@converge360.com or 949.296.9840.