Last week San Francisco hosted WWDC, AltConf and the inaugural Layers conference. Through the generosity of some of our members, Layers was able to award two scholarship tickets.

Saturday morning, I awoke to the following email:

Dear Seattle Xcoders, 

THANK YOU so much for making my dream of attending the Layers conference in San Francisco come true. It was an amazing experience and has cemented and inspired my path towards learning how to code and to becoming a designer. 

After graduating I was really lost and struggling to find something that really piqued my interest - and was a sustainable career - after attending the workshop, I now know that I can (and will) make the effort to learn how to code for my own future. 

Thank you so much for making it possible. 

Here’s the part of this I can’t get over: This was not actually an official “Xcoders” project. I wasn’t personally able to contribute to the scholarship at the time, although I witnessed it unfold: In the course of just an hour, one Xcoders member sent out the proposal and others chimed in almost immediately with contributions. Before we knew it, we were over the goal of one ticket and almost to a second. Someone committed to the balance and the round was done, just like that.

The organization didn’t raise this money, the community did it. This in turn enabled Jessie Char and Elaine Pow to welcome and influence two people who otherwise wouldn’t have attended.

I love this community.

No, we’re not dead. If anything, we’re stronger than ever! Most of our scheduling and communication has moved to Meetup.com and keeping multiple locations in sync falls by the wayside.

We’ll be keeping the lights on here as a fallback, but come join us on Meetup.com and subscribe to its calendar to stay up to date.

Seattle Xcoders has three talks scheduled for the downtown meeting this month.

How to App Video

Mark Boszko, 18-year veteran of broadcast TV, now makes promo videos for The Omni Group. In his presentation, get an overview of the entire process of making a video to promote your app, so you’ll grok the language your video producer is speaking, plus hear some helpful tips for those of you looking to do it on your own.

App Camp for Girls: Seattle edition

Liz Marley, in the first lightning talk we’ve held at these meetings, will give us a brief summary of what App Camp for Girls is all about. It’s coming to Seattle this summer for the first time.

Design Iteration in an iOS Project</h4> Jeff Johnston talks about lessons learned in multiple design iterations for an iOS app. The meeting starts at 7 pm, and will be held at [The Omni Group](http://www.omnigroup.com/): [1000 Dexter Ave N, Suite 400](http://goo.gl/maps/j0Rxc) (just north of the corner of Aloha St, on the east side of the street). The building's garage closes at 6pm; neighborhood street parking is free after 6pm. Access is via the elevator, but you need an escort. Gather on the 1st floor to be taken up to Omni's offices. Remember to sign in and sign out at the reception desk. The building is accessible via the 26 and 28 buses, which stop out front, and the 40, which stops two blocks to the east on Westlake. It's slightly less accessible via the 5 and 16: if bussing from the north, get off at Galer St and use the pedestrian bridge. If bussing from the south, get off at Prospect St. Or better yet take the 26, 28 or 40 when coming from downtown if at all possible.