Area teachers using DonorsChoose.org to fund classroom projects
DonorsChoose.org offers a variety of ways to search for a project, including area, teacher, school and more.
A Chartiers Valley elementary teacher is using DonorsChoose.org to fund the purchase of blank journals for her students to write their own books, which they will then read to kindergarten students.
What goes around comes around.
That’s what Ellen Zissis, a first grade teacher Chartiers Valley Primary School, believes.
As of Aug. 19, Zissis has raised $115.82 in donations to fund the acquisition of blank books and magic markers on the website www.donorschoose.org. The materials will be used by her first grade class to write their own books, which they will then read to kindergarten students in the building. She still needs to raise $158 more to reach her goal.
“I love the site and I have donated to teachers whose schools were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina,” she said.
Donorschoose.org is becoming increasingly popular with public school teachers who have tight budgets and sometimes end up spending their own money on materials needed for lessons. What makes the website unique is that donors can pick and choose which projects they can help fund.
The site traces its roots back to the year 2000. Its founder, Charles Best, was a history teacher at a Bronx, N.Y., high school, and was spending his money on school supplies, as were his fellow teachers. Best ended up designing a website where teachers could post requests for funding for classroom projects in public schools, and anyone with $5 could donate, according to a company history.
The site became nationally known in 2003, when it was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, who calls it a “revolutionary charity.” And in 2007, the website went national and became self-sustaining three years later.
The way it works is simple. A teacher can post a funding request – for free – explaining the project, how much money is needed and how those funds will be used. Once the teacher’s funding goal is reached, DonorsChoose.org will ship the requested materials to the school. Donors will receive photos of the project as it takes place, a letter from the teacher and an explanation of how the funds were spent. As little as $1 can be donated, but if someone donates more than $50, then he or she will receive handwritten thank-you notes from the students.
Stephanie Van Balen, a teacher at Peters Township Middle School, recently posted a request on the site for funding for a DSLR camera with a lens, two memory cards, a protection plan and a case. It will be used to take pictures of student activities for the school’s yearbook. Van Balen is attempting to raise $1,398.
“I was introduced to DonorsChoose.org by my school principal, Adam Sikorski,” Van Balen said in an email. “After previewing the projects and using it to help fund a project for our 2015 Dance-a-thon, I realized this was a perfect opportunity to help grow my classroom technology without putting a strain on our middle school technology budget.”
Her Dance-a-thon request, made earlier this year, garnered the school a photo printer, as well as paper and ink.
“When a project is successfully funded, the educator receives valuable resources that can be shared with the students,” she said. “Essentially, it’s a win-win for everyone.”
Peters Middle School librarian Katherine Stouden, who worked on the project with Van Balen, added, “I had a terrific experience with the process and plan to try again later this year with a new request for books for our new middle school book club.”
In its 15 years of existence, the site has helped fund more than 600,000 projects with the help of 1.8 million donors. It has also compiled an A-list board of directors, including author and MSNBC analyst Jonathan Alter, comedian Stephen Colbert, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, and Richard Lovett, president of Creative Artists Agency. But perhaps most telling is that the site has helped more than 15 million students in 63,446 schools across the country.
The local teachers who have used DonorsChoose.org say they do not feel strange asking the public for financial help. Instead, they said donors have the option to choose a project they hope to fund and give any amount of money they want. No one is being forced to make a donation and it’s the kids who benefit.
“They decide if they want to help,” Stouden said. “I am not making anyone feel guilty. If I have a need, then I am going to put it out there.”