For what? Well, there is a meet on this Sunday. Unofficial one for graduates. But officially for the Anonymous Helpers. (nothing to do with Anon!)
Technical University of Munich, or TUM as we used to say, are a German version of American MIT or Canadian Waterloo. For every geek and nerd, getting into there is a huge dream. You need all types of fees to only to get a fresh man's entry.
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Some could not make it. Simply scholarships weren't enough even for geniuses. So we established a club. The Anonymous Helpers, in 1999.
I was dang young back then. 1999 = 18 years old. At the start we had like 5 members but until then end of 1st month we got like 47 or 50 something!
Our goals: To help poor students to get into the university, get them food/drink/clothes and living support. We asked no return except more members to help out. We help students with homework and classwork. Help the disability with props. And a lot of parties...
We did all kind of money raising. Donations - charities. Bakery sales. Cheap food sales. Cloth and jewelries sales. All homemade. Fixing computer/devices for donations. Hacking contest for charity (1/5 of the members are from Chaos Computer Club). All kinds of weird contest. Art & photography sales. Music for disability. I'm the most active musician in the club. Played as bassist and fiddler at a local goth metal band. Later we formed a black metal band that only do charity for the Anonymous Helpers.
We never got onto the news until last 2009. Why? We are the closest club in the whole Munich, ever. No banner, no logo. We are all backgrounds, belief, no belief, cultures and nationality. All activities are self-made, which mean no officially group approving every time someone wanted to throw a party for charity!
P.S. In the end of my graduate we got like over 130 different logos and slogans! Still can't find the exactly founder but fingers pointed at me a lot. Not me...
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From here I actually met Silencefreedom and a couple of other friends that later become my colleagues in work and comrades in military.
The group is still active. April the 1st, is our anniversary day. LOL. I have no idea who made this day (rumours it was from a prank day of the CCC members put on us). Fact that we formed our group on The 10th, not 1st!! I go to it regularly every year. So as almost everyone from all over the Earth.
Pic below is TUM famous building. ;)
VicariousE
So, from past readings, I gathered you and silencefreedom were friends, but not schoolmates!
Also remember you saying you were part of group to get poor kids into your school - It's a shame more American kids don't have the same "milk of human kindness"....
From meeting you and silencefreedom separately, you are both made of sterner stuff than the "run of the mill NG user", and I'm glad you've taken the time to post your words and works here.
Have a wonderful time at the reunion, and may your trip be totally free of American paranoia and distrust.
Wurfel-Waffles
We were friends from university. Not schoolmates actually, he studied in different faculty, Information Technology. I was in Mathematics. We only met whenever someone threw a musical charity out since we were musical band organizers of both faculties.
Talk about 'milk of human kindness'. I think there are similar groups in some university too. I read the news once in MIT students raised a few dozen of thousands for international studies. Pretty intense news. I just hope there is going to be more people like us. I wasn't a richie. I worked double jobs just to survive the 1st and 2nd year. Mandatory fees are main things but prop fees are killer ones. We all banded together just to survive these. Helping hands. Smart way. It worked perfectly.
I think there are really many serious NG users, such as you and SBB. We are just the small population of really geeky and who loves to separate real and virtual lives out.
We all have strong real life and now try to build a strong virtual ones. I troll on the General often too :3 !
Thank you for the warmness comment, VicariousE. It is awesome to be friend with you and SBB, sir.