Dear Residents and Visitors,
I am a junior at Savannah Arts Academy, a public school in the heart of downtown Savannah. As a Communication Arts major, I have studied computer technology and website design as a part of the curriculum for the Communication Arts Department at Savannah Arts Academy. I am on an extremely tight budget and it is very difficult at times to fund this website without funding from other sources and through the generous contributions of my parents.
I have maintained the Skidaway Island Weather Center for the past three years, ensuring that its weather data is the most accurate and reliable of any on Skidaway Island. The tenure of the station has far exceeded my expectations and the amount of positive feedback that I have received is overwhelming. These past three years have allowed me to develop this weather website for the better and, along with community support and feedback, I have surpassed the visitor traffic goals that I never thought would be exceeded.
The costs of maintaining a website of this magnitude is quite large, webhosting and hardware maintenance all present the unique challenge of balancing need with want without the proper financing. I pay a regular monthly fee to my webhost to cover the cost of using their computer servers to host the data on which this website resides; that can regularly exceed one-hundred fifty dollars per year. In addition, the computer which uploads all this weather data is in desperate need of replacement but the cost of new computer that can accommodate the weather software that I use could exceed one-thousand dollars.
Any amount that you could donate to help fund this continuing project would be greatly appreciated. From the smallest amounts to cover the basic costs of monthly web hosting to the larger donations that will help fund the replacement of antiquated hardware, I would sincerely appreciate any and all donations given to help this project progress even farther. I will continue to make this website one of the most accurate sources of weather information for Skidaway Island and the Greater Savannah area but that will not be possible without donations from those using this service.
I could display advertisements and pop-ups to cover the cost of this website, but I have not done so because I feel that annoying advertisements are morally irresponsible. The internet provides a wealth of information and I believe that the valuable resources on the information superhighway should not be cluttered with unnecessary advertisements. If you want this service to continue without advertisements or subscription fees, please give a small donation to cover the cost of maintenance and system integrity. However, if I am unable to cover all the costs associated with maintaining this website, I may be forced to display non-intrusive and benign advertisements.
I appreciate your time and I am open to any comments or questions that you may have.
Owner, Skidaway Island Weather Center