jamie ann

Last month I was asked to participate in the Donors Choose Social Media Challenge.

DonorsChoose.org grew out of a high school in the Bronx where teachers saw their students going without the materials needed to learn.  Our website provides an easy way for everyday people to address this problem. Public school teachers post project requests that range from a $100 classroom library, to a $600 digital projector, to a $1,000 trip to the zoo. People like you can choose which projects to fund and then get photos and thank-you letters from the classroom.

Very cool, isn’t it?

Well, BlogHer asked me to choose a couple projects for the Chicago area. I picked two I’m really excited about and would love to see funded.

The first being for a class of first graders, their teacher wants to give them books as Christmas presents to encourage reading in the home as well as in school. These children might not get presents otherwise. She is giving one of my staple books for a child’s library, Where the Wild Things Are. When it comes to gifts for kids, I always give books (seriously, I have a list of favorites and pick from it for each holiday!). Reading was such a huge part of my childhood and I think everyone should have the opportunity to exposed to books and learn to love them. Read more about Mrs. S’s project.

The second project I chose is for an 8th grade classroom at a school where most students are low income and minorities. I remember when I was in 8th grade, I was probably in that preteen angsty stage where I just didn’t care about anything, let alone reading. So in order to encourage these students to read, the teacher is going with short stories. He hopes to get two class sets of classic stories and fairy tales. Read more about Mr. W’s project.

I’m writing this post to ask for you, my awesome readers, to rally together and help get these projects funded. After all, it is a challenge and I know my 20 Something Bloggers are up for a challenge!

Or if you’re not too into these two Chicago projects, check out the rest from all over the country. Every dollar helps, no matter who it is going to.

But if we get the two projects funded, I’ll do something really awesome for you guys. I don’t know what yet but I’m open to suggestions.

Let’s make this happen!