A department, a ballroom, and a lot of spare parts
Raspberry Jam WV is a free workshop day for anyone aged 10 and up who wants to build something with their hands.
The event
A Raspberry Jam is a community event where people come together to build things with Raspberry Pi computers, a small low-cost computer designed for learning. Jams happen all over the world and each one is run by local volunteers. This one has run every year since 2018 in Charleston, West Virginia, and it is built around benches rather than talks. You sit down, a volunteer sits with you, and you leave with something you made.
The department also runs Wild and Wired West Virginia, a Linux festival. That event is about what you run. This one is about what you build.
The department
The host is the Computer Science, Data Science and Mathematics Department at the University of Charleston. The university provides the GSU Ballroom, the equipment and the student volunteers. That is why admission has always been free, and why the money raised from sponsors goes almost entirely into parts.
The Raspberry Pi connection
Raspberry Jam WV is listed in the official Raspberry Pi community events directory, which is how most first-time visitors find it. The event is run independently by the department. It is not organised by, and does not speak for, the Raspberry Pi Foundation or Raspberry Pi Ltd.
The event lead
Brett White runs Raspberry Jam WV and is West Virginia's first Raspberry Pi Certified Educator. He is the person to talk to about bringing a class, sponsoring the event, or getting computer science into a course you already teach.
Needs: two or three sentences in his own words, and a photo