A friend of mine was expecting a Christmas bonus and instead received a hundred dollars for a donation made in her name to a non-profit organization. Her loss was my gain. She called me and asked me to sign up on the website so she could share her gift with me. The non-profit organization happened to be a website dedicated to helping classroom teachers fill their classrooms with new and useful materials. www.donorschoose.org allows teachers to take a few minutes to register (for free) and write a proposal requesting items that would make the classroom experience better for both students and teachers. The proposal didn't take long to write, keep it short and to the point and stress how much your students want to learn, if only they had the proper tools. I requested books for my classroom library but the website allows you to also request computers, technology upgrades, ect.
Once you create your proposal, I suggest sending a link to that proposal to everyone you know. I sent a link and in a matter of minutes (literally) my thousand dollar request was met. www.donorschoose.org will send you an email letting you know that your request has been fulfilled and you are then required to post a short note online thanking your benefactors. Just a few weeks later the books I requested arrived and voila! I have an entirely new curriculum.
After your resources arrive the website requires you to complete a thank you package, where you’ll take pictures of your students with the materials and have them compose thank you notes of their own to your generous benefactors. www.donorschoose.org even made this process relatively easy. They provide the permission slips required to post pictures of your students online, they even provide a thank you note template for your students. All donations made to your classroom via this website are tax deductable, so it is much easier to convince your friends and family to open their pocketbooks. I highly recommend this website.
