Topeka, KS is now Google, KS

Today, Mayor Bill Bunten issued a proclamation temporarily changing the name of our city from Topeka, KS to Google, KS in the hopes of differentiating us from other cities competing to be Google’s test market for a new fiber optic network.  Think Big Topeka has taken the community by storm with more than 10,000 members of its Facebook group.  TransformTopeka is encouraged to see such a surge of community support.  Topeka, KS, oops, I mean Google, KS has not secured our place atop Google’s list yet.  Think Big Topeka needs your help.  Please become a member of the Facebook group and check back often for things you can do to support their effort.  Please also, submit a nomination as a member of this community to Google.  Let’s do everything possible to ensure Google chooses Google, KS for its test market, truly making Topeka, KS the Capital City of Fiber Optics.

Christmas Bureau Update

We wanted to take a minute and provide an update on what we are doing for the 3 families we adopted from the Christmas Bureau.  We raised $605, and it is because of that generosity that we have been able to do so much for these 3 families (total of 16 lives we are touching).  We spent $122.35 at Toys R Us on toys for 9 of the 11 kids.  We spent $337.71 on clothes for each of the 11 kids, gift cards for 2 of the 11 kids, and gifts for the 5 adults.  We spent $82.99 at Hyvee to buy holiday meals for each family: 1/2 a Ham, potatoes, veggies, rolls, and pie.  We area also giving each family a $20 gift card to Dillons to meet any other needs they might have (e.g., food, diapers, soap, paper goods, etc).  Who knew $605 could do so much?

We will be making deliveries on Tuesday and Wednesday to the families.  I only wish we could do more for not only these families, but for all those in need this holiday season.  Thank you to everyone who donated money to help us help more in our community.

What is TransformTopeka about?

At the TransformTopeka potluck dinner we met wonderful people who want to help make Topeka a better place through positive communication of ideas.

What do we mean by “positive”?  We desire to discuss the solutions to problems and not just discuss the problems themselves.  We want all communication to be thought provoking and create discussion, but we do not want to be argumentative.  We want diverse opinions and thought, but we want everyone to respect each others opinions and thought.

What do we mean by “better”?  We all want to make Topeka a desirable city for people to live, work, play, and raise a family.  We want to raise our families here and want to stay here, but need to be able to grow both personally and professionally in Topeka. Read the rest of this entry »