August, 26, 2025

To Our Dear Community,

I have been hard at work trying to bring the idea of Design Play Learn to life. I am overjoyed that you are able to be here, reading this letter and witnessing the birth of this idea into a reality.

The mission of Design Play Learn is to teach technical literacy and digital creativity through the art of game development to future creators, for an educated and enlightened future. I have long believed in the power to create and educate that the intersection of art and technology holds. It brings a smile to my face to be amongst the people I see across the globe involved in this work in the present day. Design Play Learn is not just a great name, it is a philosophy unto itself that presents a roadmap to a future full of thought, joyous action, and the resultant wisdom of those who follow careful thought with joyous action.

The seed for Design Play Learn was planted years ago, when I was still learning how to become a game developer myself. The journey from seed to sprout was much faster and when it was suggested in February of this year that I branch out from my former teaching job and pursue teaching on my own, it was a natural choice. Since then, Design Play Learn moved to begin securing everything we need to launch our pilot program. We’ve been housed under a phenomenal nonprofit incubator, received the software licenses required for our students, and developed a great curriculum to give students a well-rounded experience building games. We have our first contract with City of San Rafael to provide after school classes to 2nd - 5th graders, and parents have already started enrolling their kids.

With all this good news you would think we’re right on track for doing what we set out to do. Here’s the thing though; classes are set to begin on September 15th and we still do not have enough equipment and funds to run our classes. At minimum, we'll need $3,000 for supplies and six laptop computers to run our class, but the number of sign-ups per class will likely exceed that minimum.

I am asking everyone I know and everyone I don’t know for help in this endeavor. Whether you can donate to Design Play Learn directly, or you can spread the word and help us find donors, we need you. Our program will support youth in our community and set the foundation for them to be able to keep up with an ever-evolving technical landscape. It will teach them to value the power of collaborative and creative endeavors.

You can donate through Marin Arts using our Donate page, you can use the QR code on the informational card below, or through our sponsor, Marin Arts/Marin Link, directly. When you fill out the donation information, please enter Design Play Learn as the Active Project Name.

Thank you so much for helping bring this project to life for the benefit of our kids, grandkids and other future generations.

Warm Regards,
Dawud S. Zafir