| There are not too many ways for individuals to make | | | | $396 donated by an individual to a fifth grade |
| a tangible difference inside public school classrooms | | | | classroom in Brooklyn, NY. The teacher requested the |
| unless you are a teacher. Not everyone is called to | | | | funds to purchase four sets of Scholastic's 100-volume |
| teach, but for some people coming alongside a | | | | library sets. |
| teacher in a way that can make a real difference has | | | | $254 requested by a Chicago kindergarten teacher to |
| been a difficult task. Until now, that is. Please read on | | | | purchase a hermit crab kit and related educational |
| to learn about one such organization impacting | | | | materials to teach children about caring for animals |
| American classrooms that brings teachers and | | | | [many children are totally unfamiliar with pets]. |
| individual donors together by way of the internet. | | | | $217 requested by a San Francisco kindergarten/first |
| DonorsChoose [ is an online organization tasked with | | | | grade teacher to pay the admission fee for eighteen |
| bringing the needs of public school teachers to the | | | | students and eight adults to the San Francisco Zoo to |
| general public. In many districts, teachers must pay out | | | | see the zoo's penguin exhibit. |
| of pocket in order to provide certain "extras" for their | | | | $604 donated by individuals for a new Canon copier |
| students. These extras usually include paper, pencils, | | | | to supplement the one copier used by 300 teachers |
| books, clipboards, teaching materials, and the like. All | | | | and paraprofessionals daily in an overcrowded 1600 |
| things that most well funded districts take for granted, | | | | student South Bronx school. |
| but poor districts are unable to provide. Indeed, with | | | | Projects are posted regularly by registered members |
| many teachers spending several hundreds of dollars | | | | and filled by interested parties through the site, which is |
| per year on their students, these extras add up and | | | | a not-for-profit corporation started in 2000 by a Bronx |
| can be difficult to provide on a $33,000 salary. | | | | public high school teacher, Charles Best, who was |
| The DonorsChoose site allows for teachers to | | | | searching for a way that individuals could meet the |
| register, submit project proposals for materials or for | | | | needs of his under funded school. The idea of |
| experiences that their students need to learn, and | | | | DonorsChoose was soon hatched and it quickly |
| allow "Citizen Philanthropists" the opportunity to help | | | | spread to schools around New York City before going |
| schools directly by funding a specific project. | | | | national in 2004. |
| To date, over four million dollars worth of projects | | | | You may not have the monies available to fund an |
| have been donated by Americans in all fifty states to | | | | entire project, but you can designate a monetary |
| schools impacting over 200,000 students in New York | | | | donation that can be used to fund DonorChoose |
| City, North and South Carolina, Chicago, San Francisco, | | | | operations or toward an open project. |
| and Los Angeles. Projects filled by donors include: | | | | |