I discovered an amazing organization today. This totally feel into my lap but I feel that it is something that more people need to know about. Everyone knows that education in many areas of our country is lacking and teachers are putting their own money in to fill in the gaps that our state and federal governments keep making cuts. Education is what our children need in order to grow up to be responsible adults in our society. Both of my parents were teachers, my sister is a teacher and I have a few close friends that are teachers. Year after year I have seen them put thousands of dollars into their classroom and students in order to ensure they were getting the best education possible. That being said, I think that this is a wonderful organization. So let’s hear a little about DonorsChoose.org:
Here’s how it works: public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from
pencils for a poetry writing unit, to
violins for a school recital, to
microscope slides for a biology class.
Then, you can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires you. Once a project reaches its funding goal, we deliver the materials to the school.
You’ll get photos of your project taking place, a thank-you letter from the teacher, and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent. If you give over $100, you’ll also receive hand-written thank-you letters from the students.
At DonorsChoose.org, you can give as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transparency, and feedback that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions. We call it citizen philanthropy.
How we ensure integrity
Our team is vigilant about providing end-to-end integrity for each classroom project funded through our site. To that end, we:
- Vet every classroom project request submitted by teachers.
- Process donor transactions using the most secure and trusted technology available.
- Purchase the classroom materials, shipping items directly to the school and alerting the principal when the materials are on their way.
- Provide photos of the project taking place, teacher and student letters, and a cost report showing how every dollar was spent.
Now a little bit about how I found about about DonorsChoose. I was at Borders today purchasing a book for myself and for my oldest son and when I checked out I was provided a donation card to donate $15 to the school program of my choice due to my purchase. The gift card is made possible by a donation of the funders of donorschoose.org and is limited to one per person.
Normally, I don’t try to suggest where someone should donate their hard earned dollars but if you are still considering a charity for 2010 donation I think that you should take a look at DonorsChoose. Please consider it. There are many more details on their website.
Here is the project that I chose to support:
Classroom project requested by Mrs. B.
My Students: The. More. Students. Read. Aloud. The. More. Fluent. They. Will. Be. Looks pretty silly, doesn’t it? Imagine if this is how you internalized the written word. Every day, students who struggle with fluency get further behind their peers, and get more and more frustrated with gathering meaning from text.
My students come from pretty difficult homes. 76% of my students are considered “at risk”…free lunch, incarcerated parents, homeless, migrant, abused, abandoned, you name it. In spite of all their challenges though, they are truly amazing kids. They are great at pushing aside whatever horrible thing is going on in their lives to focus on the task at hand…learning. They realize that learning, school, and most of all, reading, is important–and the ticket to a better life. They are great kids who deserve the world…and a better hand than they have been dealt.
That is where our staff come in. I have never worked with a staff who is so caring, so creative, and so willing to go the extra mile to help these kids succeed. They truly work miracles with these kids every day. I know the success of our school family is a direct correlation of how hard our tireless staff and volunteers work.
My Project: The more children read, and the more they read the SAME piece, the more fluent they will become. As a teacher, it is difficult to come up with creative ways to get students to read the same piece twice, let alone get them to read it 8 or 9 times. By recording themselves on a computer using these headphones and free online software, students will be able to create a podcast of themselves reading. In order to get the final product perfect, they will read it over and over again, thereby becoming more fluent. They will be motivated to achieve reading perfection!
Once they are more fluent readers, so many more doors will open for them. Their love of learning will skyrocket, and they will be able to take that first step in breaking the cycle of poverty.
Please help us fund this project. My students deserve this. They really are great kids who have just been given a poor roll of the dice. This project can really help them read more fluently; this project can really change lives!
Let’s go out there and change the lives of Children!
