DonorsChoose.org

While feeding my youtube addiction the other day, I came across this video:




Yes, I'm a big Adam Lambert fan. I still think he should have won American Idol...and so does my cell phone bill. The editing is a little annoying but the message is what matters. We can't rely on the government to help our schools. It's up to us to make sure our students have the materials they need for them to succeed. We can do that by making donations to DonorChoose.org.

I think it's great to see him hooking up with such a great organization as DonorsChoose.org.

How we started

DonorsChoose.org grew out of a Bronx high school where teachers experienced first-hand the scarcity of learning materials in our public schools.

Charles Best, then a social studies teacher, sensed that many people would like to help distressed public schools, but were frustrated by a lack of influence over their donations. He created DonorsChoose.org so that individuals could connect directly with classrooms in need.

Since launching in 2000, DonorsChoose.org has empowered more than 200,000 teachers and citizen philanthropists to become change makers.

Our vision is of a nation where students in every community have the resources they need to learn.

DonorsChoose.org works by you visiting their site, searching through projects that have been submitted by classrooms or schools and choosing the one that you're the most passionate about. Each project has an explanation and a "give" box where you can choose how much to donate. This box also shows you the amount left that's needed, the numbers of days until the deadline, and how many people have donated.

Ms. F.'s Classroom High Poverty Colorado

Exploring Community By Opening Doors On Homes In The World It is imperative that students begin undertaking the task of placing themselves within our varied global society. This project offers them insight into the resilient and ingenious ways people survive...more My students need 6 book titles, 1 large world map and 7 current giant world atlases. To go: $145 Time left: 17 days Any amount welcome. ---------or--------- ---------or--------- To go: $145 Time left: 17 days Donors so far: 7

Sam from Houston, TX "What you're doing is important. Thank you for teaching and learning these important things." Giving doesn't get much easier than that! There are pages and pages of projects to choose from. Teachers need books, science equipment, rugs, bean bag chairs, art drying racks, electric pencil sharpeners, camcorders, SAT booklets, dumbells, children's books and games, binders, art supplies, etc. They are not asking for overly expensive and lavish items, just every day things to help the students learn and help them do their jobs better. DonorsChoose.org had even made it extremely easy to find the project that you want most to help out. You can search by location, subject, urgency, cost, and days left. They have really put a lot of thought into this site and project. It's one of the easiest to use sites I've ever seen. They even have a gift giving card which would be great for birthdays and weddings where people want to use "in lieu of..." when they feel they don't need gifts for themselves. You buy the card, your friend chooses a project then hears back from the classroom after they've received the gift. Easy peasy! Check out this video, which features Claire Danes and Zach Efron, further explaining the program: I donated. Will you?