(somewhat emotional) announcement
I know I've fallen very behind with respect to the upkeep of this place but I am hoping that by now, things should more or less have been tied up for round 1. If there are any concerns or problems that anyone feels should be addressed, I would appreciate it if you could comment here or leave me a PM. I've sent out some more emails and messages regarding pinch-hits again so hopefully people haven't forgotten about them. I am very sorry that some things may still have not been sorted out, even so many months down the road, or been done as efficiently as possible but we have been trying our best to make sure that everyone who won a bid got something written in return and that all the tallying was done as systematically as possible.
I have to also mention that while I will try my absolute best to ensure all loose ends for round 1 are tied up, I personally will not be able to organize future rounds or continue to officially maintain this community. Other mods are welcome to go ahead and make the choices they like but RL matters will not give me as much time as I had last fall to organize something of that size again. I apologize as I know some of us had high hopes (myself included) of future auction rounds and more activity on this community. Of course, this is not to say that they may not happen. I just know that I will no longer be able to play a part in putting them together. I should add that if anyone is interested in maintaining or modding or has any ideas on where we can go from here, I would be happy to give you access to the community so that maybe we can keep going in our efforts one way or another.
As I leave help_pakistan, I hope you also keep in mind that help is still needed for recovery and development in Pakistan and in many other areas that have been affected by disasters worldwide. On that note, I would like to encourage participation in helpbrazil2011, a fandom auction for the floods in Brazil.
Regarding our Round 1, we raised somewhere around 24 000 (twenty-four thousand) USD, which comes to about 2 million Pakistani Rupees, in total for the floods in Pakistan, and it is an accomplishment that we should all be very proud of. I would like to say that I am so, so grateful for all of you and your participation, all the co-mods and volunteers, the offerers and bidders and everyone who helped spread the word. I want to thank you for your kindness and for your willingness to help. It was an experience I won't forget and one that was a great pleasure to be a part of. When I started this community, I had never imagined that it would garner such a response but seeing everyone come together like this, and with a response of such magnitude, meant more to me than I can say.
Finally, I have never wanted it to be about me at all but I will say just this once that this was a disaster that literally hit home for me and what you all have done here has, at times, moved me to tears. It has reinforced so much of my hope and optimism about what we can do to help when things go wrong because we can and we have. In sum, I can't say much else other than a very heartfelt thank you. So thank you.
I have to also mention that while I will try my absolute best to ensure all loose ends for round 1 are tied up, I personally will not be able to organize future rounds or continue to officially maintain this community. Other mods are welcome to go ahead and make the choices they like but RL matters will not give me as much time as I had last fall to organize something of that size again. I apologize as I know some of us had high hopes (myself included) of future auction rounds and more activity on this community. Of course, this is not to say that they may not happen. I just know that I will no longer be able to play a part in putting them together. I should add that if anyone is interested in maintaining or modding or has any ideas on where we can go from here, I would be happy to give you access to the community so that maybe we can keep going in our efforts one way or another.
As I leave help_pakistan, I hope you also keep in mind that help is still needed for recovery and development in Pakistan and in many other areas that have been affected by disasters worldwide. On that note, I would like to encourage participation in helpbrazil2011, a fandom auction for the floods in Brazil.
Regarding our Round 1, we raised somewhere around 24 000 (twenty-four thousand) USD, which comes to about 2 million Pakistani Rupees, in total for the floods in Pakistan, and it is an accomplishment that we should all be very proud of. I would like to say that I am so, so grateful for all of you and your participation, all the co-mods and volunteers, the offerers and bidders and everyone who helped spread the word. I want to thank you for your kindness and for your willingness to help. It was an experience I won't forget and one that was a great pleasure to be a part of. When I started this community, I had never imagined that it would garner such a response but seeing everyone come together like this, and with a response of such magnitude, meant more to me than I can say.
Finally, I have never wanted it to be about me at all but I will say just this once that this was a disaster that literally hit home for me and what you all have done here has, at times, moved me to tears. It has reinforced so much of my hope and optimism about what we can do to help when things go wrong because we can and we have. In sum, I can't say much else other than a very heartfelt thank you. So thank you.