My students need 160 batteries for their communication devices. They use these devices everyday to make their wants and needs known to staff and other students.
I teach students with multiple disabilities that rely on technology to help them through each day.
Our budget has been cut severely this year. In these tough economic times, we are relying on others to help. These students need to use their communication devices every single day. For some students, it is their only mode of communication. Due to our budget restraints, we cannot afford the batteries that are necessary to keep these machines running. Rechargeable batteries would be a perfect solution to this problem.
With this donation, we could easily keep these machines running for the rest of the year. Our students will be able to use their machines freely throughout the day. Many of our adaptive equipment also runs on these batteries. Our cameras as well run on AA batteries. I personally use my digital camera every single day. Since it is not possible for many of my students to produce written work, we use our cameras to document the progress they are making in school. Each student in the school has a portfolio with pictures documenting their work. I personally go through 4-5 sets of batteries per week between using my camera and the students using their devices. Batteries are essential to our program and our student's success.
In these tough economic times, we are all feeling pain. My students have a very tough life, regardless of how our economy is doing. The situation we are in now as a society is only making their lives tougher. If you can empower them to continue making strides in their education, it would really be appreciated. Too often our society will turn away from disabled, feeling that their are more important problems in the world. It is my contention that we should be doing ALL that we can to help the underprivileged. I personally am inspired by my students. I'm inspired that they show up at school everyday with smiles on their faces, and that they are simply happy to be someplace where they can learn and grow as individuals. Unlike many in our country, they take nothing for granted and appreciate everything we give to them. You can make a difference by giving back to these wonderful people. All we are asking is to give these.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. DiGiovanni and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.