Past projects 92
Lady Tigers - For the Catchers!
Funded Dec 29, 2015I want to personally thank all those who have supported my girls via Donorschoose. This project has really helped our young catchers feel like professional softball players. As I mentioned before, our catchers used regular gloves which often would hurt their hands as they caught the ball. As our pitchers grew stronger, our catchers became more fearful.
Holding these beautiful catcher's mitts in their hands, my girls felt like true superstars. They were eager to start using them and even encouraged our pitchers to throw at their hardest.
This past season, the Lady Tigers were able to win the Bronx Playoffs lead by the greatest catchers. Thank you once again for supporting my girls. Please continue to support our girls as we will be attempting to send them back to Chicago.
www.facebook.com/LadyTigersNY”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and one other donor.Lady Tigers - Swinging for the Fences
Funded Dec 28, 2015It was devastating to our team to have had our previous batting cage accidentally destroyed. However, with the help of Donorschoose and those who support inner city after school sports, we were able to replace the cage just in time for our season. My girls were ecstatic that they could resume their training.
A lot goes into setting up the new batting cage since I retrofitted the cage so that it can be used indoors. A total of 10 buckets are each filled with 75lbs of sand so that the support stakes of the cage can be inserted into them. I provided a picture of the cage skeleton before its completion. Placing the cage's metal posts into sand-filled buckets allows that cage to be folded out of the way which wouldn't be possible if the cage was erected on a field.
The Lady Tigers had a great season becoming the first place team in the Bronx with a record of 6 wins and 4 losses. Although we lost in the championship by one run, we are still winners! We were recognized by the NY Yankees and the NY Mets in the same year! Once again, thank you so much for your support.”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and 16 other donors.Lady Tigers Softball - Catching Fire
Funded Nov 3, 2015My name is Yoshie and I am the Team Captain for the Lady Tigers for the past 3 years. This will be my last year being on the softball team since I am graduating. The donation of the gloves was very important for our team in order to improve our skills. Before, girls had to share gloves which made practices very hard. Now that every girl has a glove, we have become unstoppable.
This year, we have made it to the Playoffs ad became the #1 ranked team in our division. This was only possible because we all had our own glove and were able to practice in school and at home. Also, because of our dedication to softball, we were able to go to Yankee Stadium and walk out onto the field. We also got the opportunity to play a double header in Chicago at Chicago Bandits Stadium which is a professional softball arena.
Having your own glove to play softball has definitely helped our team succeed. You can continue to follow us on www.facebook.com/LadyTigersNY”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
This classroom project was brought to life by Staples & Think It Up Supporters and 5 other donors.Lady Tigers Banquet
Funded Feb 10, 2016On Thursday, March 10, we had our first Lady Tigers Banquet. It was so amazing and beautiful. The whole team dressed up in our best dresses and our coaches looked great in their suits. Our banquet was right next to the water and it was a beautiful night. They said it was supposed to rain but it didn't which made taking pictures outside an awesome experience. We really felt like princesses.
The most memorable moment of the night was when I had to do a speech with my co-captain. I was really nervous and afraid that I will mess up or forget what I was going to say. Another moment was when one of my friends sang in memory of Ms. Holloway who was like a mother to the whole team. Her singing really made me emotional as well as the whole team. It was beautiful and I know Ms. Holloway was smiling down from heaven.
This banquet really showed us how important we are and how much we have accomplished. I will keep doing my best and the team will too. Thank you for helping us put this banquet together. Yoshie #9 – Team Captain”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
This classroom project was brought to life by Ashoka & Think It Up Supporters and 8 other donors.Ink It Up!
Funded Oct 11, 2015Once again DonorsChoose has been such a vital component of our school. With your help, we have been able to fill the barren walls of the school with vibrant color photos of students engaged in physical activity. They now have a tangible means of their accomplishments as wells as have the ability to influence their classmates to lead healthy and active lives.
Also, we were able to create a Physical Education environment that that is rich in literacy. A "word wall" that stands out in color will assist our students in meaningful learning experiences. Significant words such as "lactic acid", "Cardiovascular Endurance", "Isometric Exercise" and so on can be easily referred to. Students have also printed out photos of their favorite quotes that motivate them on a daily basis.
Thank you once again for your generosity. I hope you will continue to support our school in the future.”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
We Play in Memory of Ms. Holloway
Funded Sep 23, 2015My name is Yashira "Yoshie" and I am the captain of the Lady Tigers for 2 years now. This is my last year and I wanted to dedicate this year to the teacher who always believed in me and my team. To lose her suddenly during the summer was very sad. Some of us didn't get a chance to say goodbye or to thank her for putting up with our nonsense. The last memory we have was her saying goodbye to us in June. Ms. Holloway was always so happy to see us and even supported the team when we lost in our first year. She told us not to give up and last year we were undefeated and went to the playoffs. We lost but she was still very proud of us.
My name is Bryana, Co-captain. We are so happy with our new hooded sweatshirts! It has been a rough start to this school year knowing that Ms. Holloway is no longer with us. She believed in us and was like a mom to all of the Lady Tigers. She kept us out of trouble and always would go to our home games. Now we can bring Ms. Holloway with us to every game and point to the sky because we know she is looking over us. We play for Ms. Holloway.”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation & Think It Up Supporters and 78 other donors.Lady Tigers - Softball Journey Continues
Funded Jul 28, 2015Once again, I thank you all for supporting my girls and their softball dreams! Our Lady Tigers were extremely excited about their new pitching aids as this will truly help them perfect their form.
During our daily 7am "Power Hour" practices, girls are divided into groups according to their positions. After 30 minutes of vigorous exercising, our pitchers go to work! The Bownet and its strike zone counter accessory makes it easier for our girls to keep track of their pitches while they work together to increase their accuracy.
Thank you so much and I hope you consider supporting our Donorschoose project "Concrete Dreams - The Florida State Experience" which sends 24 girls to FSU (http://www.donorschoose.org/project/concrete-dreams-the-florida-state-univ/1721682/?rf=link-siteshare-2015-10-teacher-teacher_2015306&challengeid=317564)
Lady Tigers Documentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUayhqGFCLQ”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and 2 other donors.Looking Towards the Future!
Funded Mar 26, 2015I am very proud of my student who came up with this "student-powered" project. This project has been a vital component in all my lessons as well as instrumental during softball practices. I thank you all for donating to this project. Below is a thank you letter from my team captain and overall best student-athlete, "Yoshie".
Thank you for helping me complete my first project on Donorschoose. When Mr. Astacio told me that I can help the school and the team, I right away thought about a smartboard since most of my teachers have one. But you can't put one in the gym which frustrated me. It would help a lot if I could see some of the things that coach talks about it. He does try his best to show us but there are a lot of girls who all need different help. Coach suggested a projector instead of a smartboard that we can hide behind the basketball hoop and display on the wall. This was a great idea! The projector could be safe behind the backboard and in a cage while the wall cannot be damaged. The smartboard idea would have been not too good since it could be damaged by a ball. When coach told me that my project had been funded, I was soo happy! I know it will help him a lot since he is dealing with cancer. Practices are great now that we have videos that help all of us. During physical education, we have learned a lot of new games and exercised along with videos. Since we don't have a scoreboard in the gym, coach found an app that displays a scoreboard with sound. It was awesome! Thank you for donating to my project. I hope you continue to support the Lady Tigers! PLAYOFFS ARE THIS FRIDAY AND WE MADE IT!!! GO TIGERS! ~Yoshie~”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
From Concrete Playing Fields to Sun Soaked Stadiums Part 2
Funded Jan 25, 2015On April 7, the Lady Tigers embarked on an adventure of a lifetime which was only possible because of generous individuals like you! What started out as a mere dream became a reality for my girls who I consider like daughters. This was the most AMAZING experience for my girls as well as for me. There was a brief moment where I thought I would miss this opportunity. As some of you may already know, I have been battling stomach cancer for 5 years now. A week prior to this trip, I became extremely ill and was rushed to the hospital where I spent several days in pain. For 5 days, I could not eat nor walk. I was afraid that I would be forced to disappoint my girls which really saddened me because they are accustomed to a life full of disappointments. While in the hospital, my girls would constantly send me messages that gave me the strength to recover. Then I received the most liberating news! I was released just before the last day of school, before Spring Break and was cleared to go to Florida. I decided to surprise my girls at school by sneaking in through the back door of the school's gymnasium during their meeting for this trip. I was bombarded with emotion and tears of joy. You can see this moment at http://ellennation.com/14211/coach-nyc-teacher-with-stomach-cancer-surprises-his-girls.
I am so grateful that I was able to witness the JOY that my girls experienced on this trip. Their bond as teammates and sisters has been forever amplified! Wherever we walked, people did not only see a team of girls with orange hoodies but they saw girls who respected each other and themselves. My girls felt like superstars as strangers would cheer for us as we traveled throughout Tallahassee. Our visit to Florida State University was unbelievable and the most memorable experience. Girls were able to walk onto their field and inhale the awesomeness of the Seminole stadium. FSU also allowed my girls to spend an hour in their batting cages as well as had the opportunity to be trained by their coaching staff which included a female Olympian! That night, my girls watched their first live NCAA women's softball game in FSU's beautiful stadium. To see my girls not worry about anything but enjoying themselves warmed my heart. They have been through so much in life and really needed this experience to uplift their spirits. I thank you for giving this opportunity to my girls. Words cannot express how grateful I am for people like you.
Going home was an adventure in itself. It took us 17 hours to get back to NY since flights were delayed and re-rerouted due to extreme weather and tornadoes! Despite this stressful situation, the girls never complained. Girls slept together as a group on the floor showing true sisterhood. It was amazing to see two girls who have had problems with each other in the past, sleep together as if they had been sisters for years. I wish I could upload more pictures of their experience on Donorschoose but I could supply everyone with a link to some photos:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B9OVrQRMzFKDfkplalU2ZWNGRmFJSUZ6b0ZKNmhMaUhXR0NCeUtWVTBXWkZNQThlLWdMdkU&usp=sharing
Thank you so much for giving my girls this opportunity of a lifetime. They will forever cherish these memories. I hope we can do this again next year and change more lives!”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 51 other donors.From Concrete Playing Fields to Sun Soaked Stadiums
Funded Dec 5, 2014On April 7, the Lady Tigers embarked on an adventure of a lifetime which was only possible because of generous individuals like you! What started out as a mere dream became a reality for my girls who I consider like daughters. This was the most AMAZING experience for my girls as well as for me. There was a brief moment where I thought I would miss this opportunity. As some of you may already know, I have been battling stomach cancer for 5 years now. A week prior to this trip, I became extremely ill and was rushed to the hospital where I spent several days in pain. For 5 days, I could not eat nor walk. I was afraid that I would be forced to disappoint my girls which really saddened me because they are accustomed to a life full of disappointments. While in the hospital, my girls would constantly send me messages that gave me the strength to recover. Then I received the most liberating news! I was released just before the last day of school, before Spring Break and was cleared to go to Florida. I decided to surprise my girls at school by sneaking in through the back door of the school's gymnasium during their meeting for this trip. I was bombarded with emotion and tears of joy. You can see this moment at http://ellennation.com/14211/coach-nyc-teacher-with-stomach-cancer-surprises-his-girls.
I am so grateful that I was able to witness the JOY that my girls experienced on this trip. Their bond as teammates and sisters has been forever amplified! Wherever we walked, people did not only see a team of girls with orange hoodies but they saw girls who respected each other and themselves. My girls felt like superstars as strangers would cheer for us as we traveled throughout Tallahassee. Our visit to Florida State University was unbelievable and the most memorable experience. Girls were able to walk onto their field and inhale the awesomeness of the Seminole stadium. FSU also allowed my girls to spend an hour in their batting cages as well as had the opportunity to be trained by their coaching staff which included a female Olympian! That night, my girls watched their first live NCAA women's softball game in FSU's beautiful stadium. To see my girls not worry about anything but enjoying themselves warmed my heart. They have been through so much in life and really needed this experience to uplift their spirits. I thank you for giving this opportunity to my girls. Words cannot express how grateful I am for people like you.
Going home was an adventure in itself. It took us 17 hours to get back to NY since flights were delayed and re-rerouted due to extreme weather and tornadoes! Despite this stressful situation, the girls never complained. Girls slept together as a group on the floor showing true sisterhood. It was amazing to see two girls who have had problems with each other in the past, sleep together as if they had been sisters for years. I wish I could upload more pictures of their experience on Donorschoose but I could supply everyone with a link to some photos:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B9OVrQRMzFKDfkplalU2ZWNGRmFJSUZ6b0ZKNmhMaUhXR0NCeUtWVTBXWkZNQThlLWdMdkU&usp=sharing
Thank you so much for giving my girls this opportunity of a lifetime. They will forever cherish these memories. I hope we can do this again next year and change more lives!”
With gratitude,
Mr. A.
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 61 other donors.