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Posted by Kari on
Wednesday,
January 28, 2009 at 9:39am
USA Network has announced the winners of the first-ever Character Approved Awards to honor individuals from a cross-section of creative disciplines who are positively influencing American culture. This year’s winner for Giving is DonorsChoose.org founder Charles Best. As a public school teacher in the Bronx, Best saw a classic problem—the lack of money for teaching supplies—and came up with a radical solution: the eBay of philanthropy.
Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org allows teachers nationwide to post online requests for classroom materials and for donors to give directly to those needs via the web. A video highlighting Best will soon be featured on the USA Network over the next several months. It is currently on view over at YouTube. The video not only features a Bronx classroom that has benefited from using DonorsChoose.org—but Best’s own awesome mustache that was a part of the Mustaches for Kids competition that raised over $300K for public schools.
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Posted by Kirk on
Thursday,
January 22, 2009 at 10:06am
Kroger, one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers, has chosen DonorsChoose.org as one of its education partners. Recently announcing over $2 million in funding to a variety of education-focused organizations, Kroger is committing $25,000 over two years to support public school students through DonorsChoose.org.
The company’s Double Your Impact initiative will kick off this February to focus on schools in five target cities: Kokomo, South Bend, and Terre Haute, Indiana, and Rockford and Decatur, Illinois. Bob Moeder, President of Kroger’s Central Division, commented, “Strong support of education is an important responsibility for every corporate citizen. Our decision to strengthen historical support of education, going back more than 100 years, is motivated by two priorities: improving the educational opportunities available to our children and building the best possible workforce for our future.”
We are thrilled to have Kroger’s support and look forward to serving students through their DYI funding!
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Posted by Candice on
Thursday,
January 8, 2009 at 12:45pm
Intel Inspire is bringing inspirational stories and videos about education to the public on www.inspiredbyeducation.com. Intel believes that “inspiring the next generation of innovators starts with quality education” and we agree! From your favorite teacher as a child to why you wanted to teach and inspire students yourself to your start-up that is determined to make a difference – this website is sharing your personal stories with the world to remind everyone of the importance of a solid educational experience.
This month, DonorsChoose.org is the featured non profit of the month on the Intel Inspire site. And if you want to share your story about how an educator or particular experience has affected you, you can upload a video here. Not to mention, this is another great way for all of you teachers out there to share your project ideas and encourage citizen philanthropists to explore your classroom projects on DonorsChoose.org.
Check out the amazing stories on www.inspiredbyeducation.com, then get those video cameras rolling (it can even be from a cell phone video camera!) to share your own education-related tales!
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Posted by Katie on
Monday,
January 5, 2009 at 5:53pm
On December 9th, at McClintock Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina, RBC announced that it will be funding $100,000 for water stewardship projects in US schools this year through DonorsChoose.org.
The RBC Blue Water Project was established to help foster a culture of water stewardship around the world. Through its grant to DonorsChoose.org, the RBC Blue Water Project will be funding classroom projects that are dedicated to watershed protection, access to clean drinking water, and understanding the value and vulnerability of water resources.
To kick off the RBC Blue Water grant to DonorsChoose.org, RBC funded a McClintock Middle School project, Future Engineers Learn Aquatic Stewardship. Teachers David Taylor and Blake Zimmerman, who head up the McClintock Engineering Club, will receive water treatment models, water lab testing kits, and hand-held microscopes, so they can learn about the engineering processes and principals involved in water testing, treatment and purification.
On behalf of the teachers and students we serve, thank you, RBC Blue Water Project!
Pictured, from left to right: Tim Jones – RBC Wealth Management, Bobby Chesney – RBC Bank, Katie Bisbee – DonorsChoose.org, Pam Espinosa – McClintock Middle School, and Robert Avossa – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Pictured: McClintock Middle School students, who will benefit from the Engineering Club water project!
Pictured: Community members, including the amazing McClintock Partners in Education volunteers, who were so helpful in pulling together our event in Charlotte!
Mustaches for Kids Charlotte concluded its second annual Growing Season, just in time for the Charlotte Growers to get clean-shaven for the holidays.
Some of the highlights this year included ridiculous events like “Mustaches on Ice” and the “Mustache Olympics,” as well as a knock-down, drag-out competition for the Worst ‘Stache award. (In an unusual turn of events, the battle for the Sweetest ‘Stache wasn’t nearly as heated.) And we had lots of laughs among Growers and Enthusiasts alike.
So, without further ado, here are the Growers who won crowns at our ‘Stache Bash:
The Best Costume goes to… Mike “Whispy” Bufkin! (Yes, Mike was dressed as Mark Spitz. Yes, he was wearing a Speedo. And yes, he shaved his body, save for his ’stache, for the costume).
The Best Fundraiser goes to… Mike “My Third Brow” Szarowicz, who very excited that he was also a Top 10 finisher for Best ‘Stache.
And last, but definitely not least, was a new award this year, Best in Show. The award goes to… Bryson “El Conquistador” Brannon! As an example of his dedication to mustaches and charity, here is the holiday card the Brannon’s are sending out to friends and family year:
Thank you, Charlotte Growers and Mustache Enthusiasts, for such a fun year and for raising over $60,000 for our local classrooms!
The Intern will report to the Central-South Executive Director, and provide support to ensure the Central-South team reaches its goals. The Central-South team is a 4 person team responsible for the oversight of 22 states in the South and Midwest.
The Intern will be responsible for the following duties:
Administration: The Intern will provide support for general administrative duties including mailing, filing, faxing, copying, and assembling materials. Administrative duties related to corporate and foundation account management include project spendouts, organizing teacher/student thank you feedback, and compiling thank you binders.
Grant Writing: The Intern will support grant efforts, including the writing of grants as needed, compiling the requested grant application materials, as well as mailing grant materials to various corporations and foundations.
Marketing & Media: Organize all Central-South media, and help with media preparation (e.g., research regional stats prior to media interview, create press packets for reporters, compile and organize press clippings into clip book). The Intern also will help prepare materials for presentations to foundations, corporations, teachers and community organizations.
Reporting: The Intern will assist with pulling reports critical to the success of the Central-South team, including running weekly donor reports and running reports at the close of each major managed giving campaign.
This is a paid position, ideally for 30-40 hours per week. Position based in DonorsChoose.org office in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood.
Qualifications:
Strong organizational, writing, and verbal skills
Ability to juggle multiple tasks
Proficiency with all Microsoft applications (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook)
Experience with SalesForce.com and/or RaisersEdge- a plus
Demonstrated success in grant writing a plus
Please send resume and cover letter to Keecia Broy at keecia (at) donorschoose (dot) org. Email subject line should read “DonorsChoose.org – Atlanta Intern Position.” No calls or faxes please.
It’s always very exciting for us to partner with a new local foundation to help Indianapolis area students. Recently, the Nicholas H. Noyes, Jr. Memorial Foundation has committed $15,000 to fund classroom needs in Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana so that more students can have improved learning opportunities. The Foundation’s funding will help ensure that local teachers are empowered to submit creative projects to help their students, and that children of all ages are getting the most out of their education.
The Noyes Memorial Foundation has been supporting organizations in Indianapolis since 1951 in the areas of cultural education and the arts, civic and community development, K-12 and higher education, environmental preservation and improvement, health and human services, and religious initiatives. We are thrilled to have their partnership and local support!
Amidst all of our great expansion and outreach in Indiana, it’s sometimes tough to make sure every high need region is being constantly promoted. Thanks to the support of Dean White, a local businessman in northwest Indiana, Lake County will receive increased support in 2009! Lake County classrooms, home to Gary Community Schools and many other high need school districts, will receive $10,000 in project support thanks to the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation. The Foundation’s grant will allow for more students to receive critical supplies and learning opportunities in some of Indiana’s neediest schools.
We are excited to make a larger impact in Lake County with the Foundation’s support and serve even more northwest Indiana students!
