Graduation Cap Elevator Pitch

We did it!

After many weeks of building, programming, and fundraising, I have finally graduated from UNC Chapel Hill! We raised $2,274 and received dozens of submissions that I proudly wore during graduation weekend. If you’d like to see how I did it, watch the video below and click here to see my detailed write-up of this entire project!

Thank you everybody who helped make this project a reality, I truly appreciate your donations and submissions. Feel free to read on, but keep in mind that I am no longer accepting new submissions (since I’ve already graduated and all that).


What’s that thing on your head?

Hey, my name is Idrees Hassan and I am finally graduating with the UNC Class of 2020 on October 10th. To celebrate, I have created a grad cap that uses a part of a Jumbotron to display anything you can think of! A__nd I’m allowing anybody who donates to a charity supporting Afghan refugees to submit a message or image that will be shown on my cap during the ceremony!__ So far, we have raised over $2,000 and have received dozens of submissions that will be shown on my head during graduation!

My graduation cap during the prototyping phase

Cool, how do I donate?

Donating is easy! You can donate to any charity you like as long as you send me the receipt of your donation! Just note that you have until October 10th to donate, as that is the day of my graduation! Here are a few popular charities people have decided to donate to:

So far we have raised over $2,000 which is already over double my first goal!

$2,274 raised of $1,000 $1,500? 2,000?!

After you’ve donated, you may submit any image/design/message you want on to my cap (so long as it is appropriate)! To get inspired and see how to submit, keep reading below.

What can I put on your head?

Anything, so long as it’s appropriate! I reserve the right to veto any submission might get me in trouble of course. One thing to be aware of is that my cap has a very low resolution of 32x32 pixels, so if you’re submitting an image you’ll want to make sure it doesn’t have any small text or details. You may submit either an image or a small message (less than 40 characters) to be displayed on my graduation cap! Here’s a few examples of things people have submitted!

To make things easier for the creatively inclined, I’ve made an editor you can use to edit or preview your designs! Click here to see it in action!

How do I submit my donation and submission?

Easy, just send an email to idrees@idreesinc.com with the following template:

To: idrees@idreesinc.com

Subject: Graduation Fundraiser

Body:

  1. Your name
  2. A receipt or any other form of proof that you have donated to a charity supporting Afghan refugees
  3. The image or message you’d like to submit! Note that you may also submit images as attachments
  4. Whether you’d prefer for your name/note to be anonymous (AKA not shown on this site alongside your message/image)

If email isn’t your style, feel free to text me too. You’ll need to ask me in person for my number however, since I don’t want bots finding it on this page and spamming me with texts about dubious pills or car warranties.

Wrapping Up

And that’s gist of it! Click here for the full explanation and FAQ of this project (and legal terms that protect me from scary lawyers). Thanks so much for listening and I can’t wait to wear all of your wonderful submissions on Sunday!


Want to get in touch and talk about one of my projects, opportunities, or just feel like chatting?
Feel free to comment below or email me at idrees@idreesinc.com
Check me out on Github: https://github.com/IdreesInc
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IdreesInc
Reach out on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/idrees-hassan/
Or watch my videos on YouTube!