assemble

💌 Communication

With so many hackers & a lot of last minute preparation, attendee communication was one of our biggest challenges.

Pre-Event

Most of our formal communication before the event came through email, with informal support & communications done over the Hack Club Slack. (FYI: all marketing emails are in the-attendees/marketing.md)

Emails

🎉 Thank You for Registering for Assemble 2022

Hey hacker,

It’s wonderful to e-meet you and I’m looking forward to meeting you in-person at Assemble! If you’ve get any questions about the event feel free to reach out to me (sam@hackclub.com). Otherwise, keep an eye on this email for more updates over the coming weeks.

For your reference, the key details are:

Starting Date: 6:00pm on August 5th

Ending Date: 12:00pm on August 7th

Location: Figma HQ (760 Market St, San Francisco, California 94102)

With gratitude,

@sampoder

🎉 Thank You For Joining The Assemble Waitlist!

Hey hacker,

It’s wonderful to e-meet you and hope I get to meet you in-person at Assemble! If you’ve get any questions about the event feel free to reach out to me (sam@hackclub.com). Otherwise, keep an eye on this email for more updates on whether we can offer you a place over the coming weeks.

With gratitude,

@sampoder

Assemble: See you in San Francisco!

Hey {Full Name},

Thank you for registering for Assemble, we’re so psyched to have you join us! We’re excited to offer you a travel stipend of up to {Stipend Amount}.

After accepting the stipend, you will be invited to our account on Expensify. There, you will be able to upload receipts for travel expenses and be reimbursed to your bank account.

So, what should you do next?

  1. Ensure you have your parents’ permission! If you need support convincing them, reach out and we’ll help you out.
  2. Ensure you have a suitable ID to travel. This varies with different airlines, we recommend checking your chosen airline’s policies. 1) For international participants, please also check that you have a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond your period of stay in the United States (unless exempt by country-specific agreements). 2) International participants also need to ensure that they meet the visa requirements for entry to the United States. Please consult our International Travel Guide for more information. Time is of the essence when it comes to visas, we strongly recommend getting started on these as soon as possible! If you need help, please reach out to @kara and @belle on Slack.
  3. Ensure you have proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a booking to receive two doses of the vaccine. This is required to accept your stipend.
  4. Book your tickets (for flights, trains etc.). Please only do this once you have met the visa and ID prerequisites.
  5. If you need to arrive or leave before Friday or after Sunday, ensure you have a place to stay in San Francisco. Accommodation will be provided within the venue on Friday & Saturday night.

Please fill in this form within three days to accept your travel stipend. Please also familiarize yourself with the terms of the stipend on the form.

Looking forward to seeing you in San Francisco!

Kindly,

Sam and Assemble Team

Logistics Update From The Assemble Team

👋 Hello!

We’re two weeks away from Assemble (Aug. 5th) in San Francisco. We can’t wait to have you at the event! This is your rundown of important things you’ll need to know and do before the event. Please read this email completely & carefully so we can have an enjoyable & safe weekend! If you have any questions, please contact us at assemble@hackclub.com.

Here is everything covered in this email:

  1. Waivers (due Tuesday, 2nd August)
  2. Emergency Contacts
  3. Proof Of Vaccination (due Tuesday, 2nd August) & Negative Covid-19 Test
  4. Suggested Packing List
  5. Traveling To Figma’s San Francisco Office
  6. Getting Home (for non-local attendees)
  7. Callout For (Un)Talent Show And Lightning Talk Participation!
Waivers

If you are under 18:

In the next hour you will receive an email with DocuSign Waiver titled “Please Sign: Hack Club Assemble Event Liability Waiver”. You and then subsequently your parents need to sign and return it to us by midnight EST on Tuesday, 2nd August or we won’t be able to accommodate you at the hackathon.

Note: On that waiver, there is an option for your parent/guardian to allow you to exit the venue alone between the non-curfew hours of 6AM to 10PM on each day. If your parents allow you to on the waiver, you may leave the building to explore the city or grab food during these hours.

If you are 18 or over:

In the next hour you will receive an email with a DocuSign Waiver called “Please Sign: Hack Club Assemble Event Liability Waiver”. Please return it to us via DocuSign by midnight EST on Tuesday, 2nd August or we won’t be able to accommodate you at the hackathon.

Emergency Contacts

In the unlikely event that you encounter an emergency during your travel or time at Assemble, we have 3 Hack Club Staff members available. Add these contacts to your phone. In the meantime, please send all questions & concerns to assemble@hackclub.com or use our #assemble channel on Slack.

Kara Massie (Primary Emergency Contact)

kara@hackclub.com ~ REDACTED (phone or Signal) or @kara on Slack

Sam Poder (Secondary Emergency Contact)

sam@hackclub.com REDACTED (phone) or @sampoder on Slack

Rick Blount (Emergency Contact for Flight Issues)

rick@hackcub.com ~ REDACTED (phone) or @rick on Slack

Proof Of Vaccination & A Negative Covid-19 Test

We want to ensure we are all doing our utmost to keep everyone safe and healthy during Assemble. We must receive proof of full vaccination as defined by the CDC by midnight EST on Tuesday, 2nd August or you will not be allowed to enter the premises.

Additionally, we will require all attendees to provide the results of a negative antigen test (ART) to reduce the risk of transmission.

If you are traveling by plane, we require you to take and submit the results of your ART test within the 24 hours before your flight to SF’s departure time.

For those who are not traveling by plane, we require you to take and submit the results of your tests within the 24 hours before the event’s start time (6PM PST, August 5th).

For residents of the USA, ART tests can be bought at your local pharmacy or requested from the federal government at https://www.covid.gov/tests.

Test results and proof of vaccination are to be submitted on ticketing.assemble.hackclub.com. Please visit your unique portal, set a password and then upload your proofs at this URL: https://ticketing.assemble.hackclub.com/set/ï»ż Password Code ï»ż.

Once the Assemble team has proof of both your vaccination and a negative test, you will receive a ticket over email and on ticketing.assemble.hackclub.com. This ticket must be presented at check-in.

Suggested Packing List

Here’s what to bring:

And for international travelers, we also strongly recommend:

Traveling To Figma’s San Francisco Office

Figma’s office is located at: 760 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94102 (near Union Square).

The building is locked by security, and attendees will not be permitted to enter before 6pm on Friday Aug 5th. If you arrive before 6pm, there will be Hack Club staff at Yerba Buena Gardens from 10am to 6pm on Friday. Yerba Buena is a beautiful park near to the venue. It’s a great place to chill and hang out and meet other attendees until the venue door is open.

Checking in to the Venue

In the Figma lobby on the ground floor, you will first be required to sign-in to the building. Security will have everyone’s name on a list, and there will be someone from Hack Club there to welcome you & guide you to the 5th floor where Assemble is!

Local Participants & Early Arrivers (arriving before 8AM on Friday, August 5th)

Figma’s offices are located on Market Street, near Union Square. We recommend taking BART to Powell Street and then walking two blocks down Market Street to Figma’s offices. Google Maps, Apple Maps & bart.gov/planner are useful tools for directions and train arrival times.

Travelers Arriving By Plane (arriving between 8AM & 5PM on Friday, August 5th)

Those traveling to San Francisco on the day of the event are welcome to make their own way to the venue. We’ll also be offering supervised BART transportation to the venue. A Hack Club staff member will be waiting at the AirTrain platform next to the BART station (view this map) from 8am to 12 midnight on Friday. You’ll be able to take the BART with them to Market Street and then explore the surrounding area or head to Yerba Buena.

If your flight into SF is delayed, please contact Rick Blount at +1 (802) 233-0635. This will help us keep track of your travels. If you are transiting during your journey and a leg of your flight is delayed, leading to you requiring a rebooking of your next flight, please first go to the airline / airport staff, then contact your parents and if you need further support contact Rick.

Getting Home After The Event

We will also be offering supervised BART transportation to the airport after the event on Sunday Aug 7 at 12PM & 6PM. The estimated travel time is 45mins, so please account for this to ensure you do not miss your flight’s check in. Ensure you are also checking the status of your flights during the day, to check for changes in flight departure times.

The 12PM transportation group will depart from Figma’s office, immediately after the closing ceremony. The 6PM transportation group will depart from the Figma office entrance on the ground floor.

For those who have late flights, we’ll have an outdoor gathering place (again in Yerba Buena Gardens) for you to chill with other Hack Clubbers & HQ staff.

We will have Hack Club staff at the San Francisco International Airport from 12:45pm to 10pm on Sunday to support you. They will be stationed at the AirTrain platform next to the SFO BART Station.

The (Un)Talent Show & Lightning Talks

We have two fun side activities that we’d love to have the community involved in!

First, the đŸŽ€ (Un)Talent Show, where you can present or perform anything to your fellow hackers! It’ll be chill and informal, so there’s no pressure. Heck, show us what you’re incredibly bad at (ever seen Ishan shuffle a deck of cards? shudder) Feel free to bring any objects or props, and if you need anything we can help you acquire it!

Second, ⚡Lightning Talks, where hackers give quick talks about intriguing things in rapid succession. Come up with some slides or present without them. We recommend keeping ‘em short short: about 2-3 minutes. Example ideas: “How bad is PHP?” & “Why pineapple deserves to be on pizza.” (56.5% of you agree according to your registrations).

Fill out this form if you’d like to get involved: hack.af/assemble-side-activities!

Please reach out to assemble@hackclub.com if you have any additional questions or need further support with your travel.

Thank you for taking the time to read this important email fully.

Looking forward to meeting you all,

Sam with the Assemble Team

We’re one week out from Assemble!

G’day!

Sam here, from the Hack Club team. We’re a week out from Assemble and we’re super excited to be having you there! Just reaching out as a reminder to complete the following two tasks before midnight on Tuesday the 2nd of August (EST):

Submit proof of full vaccination: please visit the unique URL sent in last week’s email (don't have it? send a reply and we'll get it to you!), set a password and upload an image that proves your full vaccination status (eg. a vaccine card).

Complete the Event Liability Release: please refer to the email from “Hack Club via DocuSign” and complete the liability waiver by following the instructions it outlines. Alternatively, if DocuSign is not functioning, please sign the attached PDF copy and send it assemble@hackclub.com.

We've got an large waitlist, if you don't complete these two tasks, you will unfortunately lose your spot. If you’ve already completed your forms, thank you! COVID-19 test uploading will open next week. Please remember to upload your test within 24 hours of your first flight’s departure time or the event starting, whichever comes first.

On a more exciting note, at Assemble we’ll all be voting on a “prompt” for the event to inspire project ideas. It’s like a theme at other hackathons, but people don’t have to follow it, and you all select one! You can submit your own prompt here for the ballot. Thank you!

Please let me know if you need any additional support or help with these tasks. For reference, I’ve also attached last Friday’s logistical update.

Please note one correction for travellers, Hack Club staff will be stationed at “Starbucks International Arrival” on Friday at San Francisco International Airport instead of the AirLink terminal. 

Looking forward to it,

Sam & the Assemble Team

(drawing is not a career path for me, sadly)
 

An Important Reminder About Assemble (This Weekend)!

👋 Hello!

There’s only four sleeps to Assemble! This is an important reminder that you still need to submit either your proof of full vaccination (through ticketing.assemble.hackclub.com), event liability waiver (through Docusign) or both before midnight on Tuesday the 2nd of August (EST). The instructions to do so are as follows:

Submit proof of full vaccination: please visit the unique URL (begins with https://ticketing.assemble.hackclub.com) sent in an email on the 22nd of June (don’t have it? send a reply and we’ll get it to you!), set a password and upload an image that proves your full vaccination status (eg. a vaccine card).

Complete the Event Liability Release: please refer to the email from “Hack Club via DocuSign” and complete the liability waiver by following the instructions it outlines. Alternatively, if DocuSign is not functioning, please sign the attached PDF copy and send it assemble@hackclub.com.

If you’re facing any difficulties or we’ve made a mistake, please drop me an email (sam@hackclub.com)! More than happy to help at anytime :D

Best,

Sam

PS: We (the entire HQ team) fly out to SF on Wednesday & Thursday, for now this is where we’re working from (more specifically, where I’m writing this email from) in Shelburne, Vermont!

👋 Hi! I’m Rick, your travel point of contact for Assemble.

Good morning/afternoon/evening,

Rick from Hack Club here. I’m going to be available to help in the unlikely case that travel plans go off-track.

To help you avoid and deal with any issues yourselves, we’re sending along this tip sheet. We highly recommend you save this on your phone or print it out.

Our main advice is to prepare well for travel and advocate for yourself quickly if you miss a flight. If you’re really stuck and can’t find a solution, reach out to your parents 
and then reach out to me if you’re still stuck.

Don’t panic with late arrivals; though–you’ll be able to get into Assemble no matter what time you arrive! (Do let me know if you’ll arrive after 11pm, when our staff at SFO airport will be leaving.)

Have a great time in SFO!

Rick
Voice/Text: REDACTED Slack: @rick
I’ll be on call to help on Friday the 5th as you’re flying in and Sunday the 7th as you’re flying out. If for some reason you can’t reach me, leave a message and/or try: Kara @kara on slack or REDACTED or Sam Poder @sampoder on Slack or REDACTED.

Tomorrow Assemble begins! (Aug 5th)

👋 Hey there!

I just spent my first day in SF setting up at Figma HQ with the team! It’s such a magical space and we’re all so excited to welcome you to it and meet IRL in SF.

Running errands in SF with some of the team!

If you’re receiving this email, that means we’ve received both your event liability waiver and proof of vaccination. Thank you!

The final step is to upload your proof of a negative COVID-19 test result.

If you are travelling by plane, we require you to take and submit the results of your at home test within the 24 hours before your flight to SF’s departure time.

For those who are not travelling by plane, we require you to take and submit the results of your at home tests within the 24 hours before the event’s start time (6PM PST, August 5th).

This can be done on ticketing.assemble.hackclub.com, the same place where you submitted your vaccination status. After we receive & review your test result submission, you’ll receive a confirmation email from us with a QR code that can be used to check-in to the venue. Please screenshot and save this QR code, it can also be added to your Apple Wallet.

Also a reminder for those travelling by plane, we will be having a BART chaperoning service with Hack Club staff from SFO to Market Street running on Friday 5th of August from 8AM to 11PM. To join this group, please meet at the Starbucks in the International Arrivals Section. Look out for the red bandanas and Hack Club stickers!

For those arriving domestically, to get to the Starbucks, you’ll need to take the AirTrain to “International Terminal G” (make sure you don’t get off at “International Garage G” and then take a short walk downstairs to arrivals, which we’ve documented in this (slightly hacky) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLRcRjxbQmU. For international arrivals, Starbucks will be on your left as you exit the terminal.

Thank you so much for your support in keeping Assemble safe,

Sam

PS: check out my plane for the first leg of my journey to SF!

Assemble begins today!

👋 Hey there!

It’s almost time! We’ve been spending the past two days setting up and we’re so excited to welcome you Assemble at Figma on Market Street.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to test yourself for COVID-19 and upload your negative result to ticketing.assemble.hackclub.com! After doing so, we’ll review it and you’ll receive an email with a QR code (for check-in) from us. Please also re-familiarize yourself with the logistical details emailed in our original email (attached!). It includes instructions for traveling from the airport and emergency contact information for the event.

On a more personal note, yesterday I got to meet five Hack Clubbers, and today I’ll get to meet 150+ (including yourself!). I couldn’t be more excited (alongside feeling a series of other emotions) :D At the event, let’s make sure to meet up and get to know each other more!

Hackers, assemble!

Sam

PS: here’s our team hacking away in the Figma office late last night! We can’t wait to hack with you.

[Important Update] How to get into the Venue Building for Assemble

Hey there!

We have a small change as to how you will be entering the Figma space in the Phelan building. An email will be coming from their building security at 5:00 PM with a link. This allows you entry and exit through the front door from 6:00 PM until curfew at 10:00 PM. (Note: if your flight is delayed and your arrival is post 10:00 PM, don’t worry— we’ll get you in!).

This link is only good until curfew. A new one will be generated Saturday and Sunday mornings and emailed to you.

There is also an iPad for sign-in in the lobby that you can use, but there is only one, so to avoid bottlenecks please use the link provided.

If you have any trouble, the security knows of our event and has a list of all attendees.

Hack Club will have staff in the lobby from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM assisting anyone who needs it as well.

If you have any trouble, DM me on slack @kara or text or call REDACTED

Best, Kara

Thank you for joining us at Assemble! ❀

👋 Hello again!

To start, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for taking your weekend to come to Assemble! I love how, with movie nights, Jackbox games and more, everyone made the event their own. The talent show acts, the lightning talks and the workshops presented over the weekend were especially remarkable.

Assemble was magical. You made that happen. For that, thank you.

We’ve created a shared Google Photos Album to look back on the weekend and to share photos from your adventures: https://hack.af/assemble-album! If you haven’t already added them, it’d be lovely to see your photos from Assemble on there. The documentary made by Kevin, the filmmaker, will come out in a few weeks and we’ll send an email with it.

Assemble is only the beginning, we want this to be a special semester of high school hackathons and reestablish the culture around them being IRL.

We want you to be a part of the hackathon renaissance and announced:

  1. A $500 grant once you have a venue for your hackathon, provided by Hack Club in partnership with FIRST Robotics.

  2. All fees waived on Hack Club Bank this semester for HS hackathons. That means all the money you raise goes directly towards your hackathon.

  3. When you list your hackathon on hackathons.hackclub.com, it’ll be shared with local robotics teams through FIRST.

We’d also love to have you all further involved in Hack Club:

Last but not least, Assemble is being open sourced: https://github.com/hackclub/assemble! I’ve been journaling the process of “assembling” Assemble over the past few weeks and just published my final journal which reflects on the weekend. You can read it here.

As we develop the repository, we’d love your support through issues & pull requests. Specifically, I’d love to hear from you about what you’d like to see included in the repository - please reply directly to this email if you have ideas!

With gratitude and until next time,

Sam & the Assemble team

Sunset over Shelburne Farms, Vermont.

Parent Q&As

We also ran three Q&As with parents over Zoom. We’d invite them on for thirty minutes to ask Christina & Sam questions about the event as well as hear our pitch for the event. These were really helpful for parents to become more confident in sending their kid across the world for a hackathon! We normally had five to eight parents in each Q&A.

At The Event

We had 175 in a massive office space, how do we make sure they all know what’s going on?

Printed Handouts

Our first strategy was to print out brochures with schedules & instructions for certain events. We’d then hand out these brochures during big events such as dinners and ceremonies.

Schedule Website

On the day of the event we also created a schedule website (view the code here) that attendees can use to keep up with ongoing events. We also built a platform to share important links and announcements to the hackers at Assemble, mid-event: https://assemble-feed.hackclub.dev (view the code here).

Text Messages

Airtable has the ability to send SMSs through Twilio. We used this extension at Assemble to SMS all attendees live updates about the event!

Herders / Verbal Announcements

Lastly, we had the age-old strategy of simply shouting announcements which became a bit of a meme:

Probably the most surreal feeling I’ve experienced this year was knocking out cold for 2-3 hours after a very long day and a half, only to be woken up by a loud booming sam yelling “GOOOOOOD MORNING!!! GOOOOOOOD MORNING TODAY IS SUNDAAAYY IT IS THE BEST DAYYY GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING!!!” for like 30 minutes