·         Go for a walk … on the moon.

·         Take a virtual vacation (We’ve been making meals from various countries, including Germany, France, Italy, and Mexico.)

·         Visit a museum in each of the locations you visit

·         Turn your living room into a camp ground

·         My niece in Illinois has set-up her “weather pod” and is having a sleep over with her stuffed animals. (She’s 8 years old.)

When things are so uncertain, we can find comfort in community.  We have a marvelous ARDI Community! I hope that you can take a few minutes each day and practice Service Learning and find a way to help someone in their time of need.

Some ideas: Make masks for your local hospital or doctor’s office. Tutor a student that is struggling with online learning. Reach out to a friend and have a phone or video chat. Reach out to your local nursing homes (call them) and see what they might need. Offer to grocery shop for an elderly neighbor.

For those of you missing DI, we’ve planned a few virtual activities that we’ll be announcing below.  Join in the fun….

1)    Online Virtual Team Meetings

2)    Volunteer to help Plan ARDI 2020 Celebration Event

3)    Purchase your ARDI 2020 Pins & T-Shirts

4)    Participate in Pin Trading with the Global DI Community (Facebook DI Pin Traders and Collectors Group)

5)    Participate in DIHQ challenges/events posted on the Destination Imagination Facebook and Instagram accounts.

6)    Seniors – Submit your application for $1000 ARDI Scholarship

ARDI will then make available a link for your team to meet via GoToMeeting. ARDI has only one account available so we can only host 1 meeting at a time. However, you can also sign-up for free Zoom meetings if you would prefer to use that platform. Zoom meetings are free for up to 100 participants for 40 minutes. You can schedule these anytime. If you don’t have a Zoom account, you can set-up one at the following link.

https://zoom.us/pricing

Team Managers, ARDI Students, Parents, Alumni are all invited to participate.

ARDI Pins and T-Shirts purchased for the 2020 season will also be used for the 20-21 season.  We will likely add a pin or two to add to the set next year. We may also add something to the t-shirts.

However, you can still purchase your 2020 pins and/or t-shirt and trade online with the Global DI Community.  The Facebook DI Pin Traders and Collectors Group is actively trading this year’s pins and previous season pins. Check it out!

ARDI Pins & T-Shirts will be available to Arkansas residents through April 25, 2020. If you’d like to order pins or t-shirts, simply send me an email at . I’ll review your order and send you an invoice via PayPal.

Please include how many sets you’d like. If you’re ordering t-shirts, please include the quantity and sizes.

Orders will be packed using gloves. You can choose to pick-up your orders in Greenbrier by contacting me and arranging a time. We will use appropriate Social Distancing strategies for the delivery.  If you would prefer to have me mail the pins/t-shirts, pricing will include shipping.

Pins: $15 per set (5 pins)     Shipping: 1-5 sets, $7:  Shipping: 6-10 sets $12

T-Shirts: $15 each ($18 for 2x or 3x)   Shipping: 1-3 shirts, $5

Other quantities, I’ll check shipping costs with the PO, if needed.

http://arkansasdi.org/index.php/get-involved/ardi-forms/

or you can go directly to the Google Form: https://forms.gle/fmv2ZAPN75UekUgY9

Submission Deadline: May 15, 2020

Candidate Announcement: July 15, 2020

Note: Payment for the scholarship will be paid directly to the winner’s college for the fall term.

To comply with the ARDI Youth Protection Policy, Team Managers must do the following things:

·         Read the Youth Protection Policy

·         Complete the Online Training Course

·         Complete an annual Background Check

·         Discuss the YPP with Parents and provide them with a copy

·         Know what to do if you observe situations where YPP is not followed

Deadline for Completion: January 10, 2020, but please complete as soon as possible!

http://arkansasdi.org/index.php/youth-protection/

To complete the required YPP Online Training Course, login to your Adobe Captivate account. You should have received an invitation to the system when you signed up as a Team Manager.  If you don’t have a login, please contact  

https://captivateprime.adobe.com/DestinationImaginationInc

There are some AWESOME training courses that you can take advantage of to become a Certified Team Manager. You can also share the classes with your team members at team meetings, especially useful for the just released challenge specific training courses.

We have 3 options for you to submit a Background Check to ARDI.

1)    If you are an employee or volunteer of an Arkansas School District and have undergone a background check within the last 12 months (on or after 11/1/2018), then you may submit a copy of that background check via email to . Please provide proof and date of check. (If you need to request this information through your District Coordinator, please have them submit the information on your behalf for all district teams.)

2)    If you went to Global Finals last year and completed a background check through Verified Volunteers, login to your account and simply share your previous background check with Destination Imagination, Inc. – Arkansas

https://app.verifiedvolunteers.com/en

Note: Verified Volunteers is now Sterling Volunteers

3)    If you need a background check, fill out this Google Form and we’ll enter you in the system. You’ll receive an email from Sterling Volunteers to complete your background check.  https://forms.gle/XzvZsakGTmZFqwiA6

ARDI will pay for your background check through Sterling Volunteers. The funds to cover the costs are coming from dollars we would typically use on tournament activities. So, please consider paying for all or a portion of the fee for your background check if it doesn’t cause a hardship for you. We know you already give generously to ARDI really appreciate your time and dedication to the program.