A Simple Way to Provide Resources for Students in Need
DonorsChooseGood mooooooooorning, Teacher-Space! (insert voice of Adrian Kronauer here)
We all know that teachers don't have favorites. I mean, we're not supposed to have favorites. But no matter how hard we try, all of us in the classroom have our hearts captured from time to time by student. Maybe it happens because they work extra hard on an assignment, coming in for extra help. Maybe they display a sharply witty sense of humor. Or maybe it's just that we see some nobility and sacrifice in their character when they help other students with their work. Maybe we see them withhold from making hurtful comments when others are making hurtful comments. Or perhaps we see how dedicated they are to their families. No matter how fair or impartial we are supposed to be, we spend so much time with our students that eventually we see something powerfully affective that makes us sympathetic toward certain students. And that's okay to have our heartstrings tugged on in sympathy, compassion, and admiration. We just need to follow the straight and narrow path and make sure our students don't FEEL that we are playing favorites, which is quite another thing from having favorites.
All this to say, that Teacher-Space has favorite websites, those that are dear to our hearts, that move us with their funny quirks and fierce compassion. Just such a website is Donorschoose.org. We love Donorschoose.org because it seeks to broaden support for teachers on a local, national, and global level in amazing ways! Read the excerpt below from their website to learn more:
DonorsChoose.org is a simple way to provide students in need with resources that our public schools often lack. At this not-for-profit web site, teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become classroom reality when concerned individuals, whom we call Citizen Philanthropists, choose projects to fund.
Proposals range from "Magical Math Centers" ($200) to "Big Book Bonanza" ($320), to "Cooking Across the Curriculum" ($1,100). Any individual can search such proposals by areas of interest, learn about classroom needs, and choose to fund the project(s) they find most compelling. In completing a project, donors receive student thank-you notes, classroom photos, and a teacher Impact Letter.
ulfilling Student Projects
Sustaining Operations
Spreading the Word
DonorsChoose.org performs a good deal of work to ensure the integrity of its philanthropic marketplace. Here's how it works:
- Public school teachers create student project proposals at DonorsChoose.org. This consists of writing a one page essay and listing the exact resource(s) needed.
- DonorsChoose.org volunteers screen each project proposal before posting to the website. Volunteers verify that the teacher and project meet our eligibility requirements, emailing follow-up questions to the teacher if anything is unclear.
- Concerned individuals fund the student projects of their choice—in whole or in part—and are emailed immediate email gift acknowledgments from DonorsChoose.org which can be used for tax deduction purposes.
- DonorsChoose.org emails the school principal, alerting him/her to the funded project.
- Within the next week, DonorsChoose.org forwards the donor an "e-thank-you" from the teacher, which notes the date by which the donor can expect his/her full thank-you package.
- DonorsChoose.org purchases the student materials and ships items directly to the school along with guidelines for preparing thank-you packages, and a stamped envelope in which to enclose the feedback.
- Students experience the project that the donor made possible! The teacher photographs the students participating in the project and writes an Impact Letter to the donor. Students write their own thank-you notes which are then returned to DonorsChoose.org headquarters.
- DonorsChoose.org ensures that photos and the teacher's Impact Letter are posted to the website, and sends student letters to the donor(s) who completed the project or made a partial contribution of $100 or more.
