[Wikimedia-l] Some sad news

[Steve Zhang]

The loss of someone always hits us hard; the loss of one of us even more
so. I was lucky enough to work with Jackson, albeit briefly.  He will be
very sorely missed and I wish his family all the best during these tough
times.
On 21/11/2013 4:33 AM, "Amy Vossbrinck" <avossbrinck at wikimedia.org> wrote:

> Never let it be said that one person can't make a difference.  Clearly this
> young man was all about reaching out to others and making an impact
> everywhere he went.  The planet and many people on it benefited from his
> kindness for the brief time he was here.
>
> Thank you, Jackson for all you gave to make the word a better place.
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 9:24 AM, Jake Orlowitz <jorlowitz at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > User:Jackson Peebles is no longer with us, he passed away in late
> > October. Jackson was a Western Michigan University Honors student
> > studying behavioral science and biology. He worked as an ice hockey
> > referreee and volunteered with the Red Cross. His Wikipedia efforts
> > focused on counter-vandalism and adoption, "greeting new users,
> > encouraging civility, and [obsessively] reviewing recent changes".
> >
> > Jackson was a Teahouse host, an instructor in the Education Program,
> > and the lead on a Video Tutorials Project through the WMF. User:Go
> > Phightins! originaly adopted Jackson but he went on to run his own
> > adoption school and facilitated a Western Michigan University course
> > himself. Among his userboxes he said, "This user is not a Wikipedia
> > administrator but would like to be one someday."
> >
> > Jackson was born in 1992 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He graduated Mattawan
> > High School and was Senior Class President there. At Western Michigan
> > University, he was a 2011 Medallion Scholar. He worked at the Waldo
> > Library at the reference desk and volunteered for the National
> > Alliance for Mental Illness. He was one of three students in the
> > nation invited to represent the US at the International Red Cross and
> > Red Crescent’s Global Youth Conference in Vienna in 2012.
> >
> > Jackson had recently proposed a WMF Individual Engagment Grant called
> > Reimagining Wikipedia Mentorship. "I think this project is incredibly
> > important and should be pursued," User:EpochFail wrote in an
> > endorsement. The grant scored highly and looked likely to be funded.
> > "A very interesting concept...may become a 'keystone piece' in the new
> > editor onboarding process." wrote one IEG committee member. Another
> > wrote, "Taking a 'Teahouse approach' in building sustained motivation
> > and preventing editor dropouts is a wonderful opportunity to develop a
> > true mentor-mentee support system that would increase the activity of
> > new contributors." Finally, "Proposers are highly qualified and driven
> > mentors with a useful background in teaching new editors and
> > understanding the learning process."
> >
> > He was excitedly planning a trip to Australia in the coming weeks.
> >
> > On Wikipedia, Jackson earned barnstars in Mentorship, Random Acts of
> > Kindness and Resilience. Friends and teachers glowingly recalled his
> > sense of humor and his hard work ethic.
> >
> > His last edit to our site was on October 21 2013, the day he died.
> > Jackson welcomed an i.p. editor to Wikipedia: "Thank you for your
> > contributions, such as the one you made to Nikah mut‘ah. I hope you
> > like the place and decide to stay."
> >
> > Please leave remembrances and condolences at
> > http://enwp.org/User_talk:Jackson_Peebes. We'll try and contact the
> > family and share your thoughts with them. You can read more
> > reflections on Jackson's amazing life there. Donations to the
> > Kalamazoo NAMI chapter would have made Jackson very happy and are the
> > family's wish.
> >
> > --Ocaasi14:26, 20 November 2013 (UTC)
> >
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>
>
>
> --
> *Amy Vossbrinck*
> *Executive Assistant to the*
> *Chief of Finance and Administration*
> *Wikimedia Foundation*
> *149 New Montgomery Street*
> *San Francisco, CA 94105*
> *415.839.6885 ext 6628*
> *avossbrinck at wikimedia.org <avossbrinck at wikimedia.org>*
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