Past projects 10
Toner for S.P.I.R.I.T.
Funded May 28, 2014My students and I are very thankful for everything Donors Choose and the lovely donors have done for my SPIRIT class and I. My students were very excited when they received the donated resources such as the toner. One student, for example, said, "Finally our work can be printed?" Another student shared, "that was very nice of Donors Choose make this dream of ours a reality." And lastly, "Wow! What a difference this will make in our ability to publish and create new banners and other advertisements. We can also show people what we are doing."
As a result of your generosity we were able to create banners and posters for many students projects. Their projects were able to "come to life." The resources were also used to make copies of critical forms and now all my students can have their picture taken for our website.
Donors Choose as well as the resources provided have made a great impact on my students and myself. The stress for getting copies and banners ready on time and put up around has been eliminated. My students are much happier knowing we can make copies and other necessary paper work in less than 2 minutes. I now can focus on helping my students improve their projects and taking them to the next level. Now my students are learning to be more responsible for their individual projects which means getting banners printed, critical forms, etc. Donors Choose has made us very happy because it has made our projects a success.
We truly appreciate your generosity! Thank you for enabling us to be successful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
Taft S.P.I.R.I.T. Field Trip
Funded May 1, 2014Thank you ever so much for helping us make sure this project took place. The students all had such a great time. And I have to admit, there is no one else I would rather spend the day with then the SPIRIT students :)
They loved the I-MAX film; as you probably heard they picked Hubble 3D. For many of the students, this was their first time seeing an I-MAX film. And the film really tied in nicely with their viewing the Space Shuttle Endeavour. After lunch the students explored the museum on their own and had lots to share afterward. Please email me for my Flickr site if you would like to see more photos as they only allow me to upload 6 photos :)
It was really nice to be able to reward them for all of their hard work this school-year! It was a fun, educational field-trip at exactly the right time. If it wasn't for your generous donation, I don't think the trip would have happened! THANK YOU!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
"Phabulous Fotos"
Funded Aug 7, 2013On behalf of the students at Taft High School, SPIRIT Leadership Class, we thank you very much for your donations. Each donation was a great help. Without each of your contributions to our project, we would not have been able to get the printer and accompanying supplies.
The printer is a Canon Pixma. We were also able to get glossy photo paper and ink cartridges. As you know, we will be using the printer to print photos of our SPIRIT projects to post around campus and to create Leadership IDs and to thank our community members for their donations. We will be posting the photos for all to see. We will post them in bulletin boards on campus and in the community.
Your donations help the students working to make our school a better place. Hopefully they will take what they have learned here to college and into the world. Your donation is especially appreciated as schools have lost a lot of money. Although we normally have trouble buying supplies, these special projects are having an even a harder time getting funded.
Without Donorschoose.org, we would not have been able to take photos of our projects and share them with all of the students and families of Taft. We would not have been able to properly thank our community supporters. And as the students shared, "we wouldn't have been able to even leave the room because we wouldn't have had our special ID cards." Thanks again for being a part of donorschoose.org. Thanks again for helping our project and our students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
Bins for Bedlam
Funded Oct 15, 2012Thank you ever so much for your incredibly thoughtful gift. It can be frustrating to not have basic supplies to help my students. Your generosity has put a smile on my face and I know my students will also be grateful too. You will be making their projects easier to accomplish and also demonstrating to them the importance of "giving back." I look forward to sharing their photos with you soon!
Glasser said, "We Learn 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we discuss, 80% of what we experience, 95% of what we teach others." With this in mind, I have created lots of hands-on activities for my students. As you may know, I have social leaders in our Student Problem Identification and Resolution Improvement Team (S.P.I.R.I.T.) who love (and learn best from) hands-on-activities. Our job as a very diverse class is to work together to improve our school and to increase tolerance. We host many projects such as Denim Day (a Sexual Assault Prevention Day), a Cultural Food Fair and Health Fair.
Each year I am scrounging for school supplies. If I see a paperclip in the hallway, I stop to pick it up! It is very difficult for a classroom of forty-five children to share 20 bins. These classroom bins are essential and are sadly not provided by the school; most of the parents cannot afford to provide these supplies either.
Now our children will have the supplies they need and an opportunity to use these bins to host many more projects for years to come. Creativity broadens the mind. Your generosity has ensured that my students continue to learn through hands-on activities. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
This classroom project was brought to life by Kia Motors America and 15 other donors.Coin Counters for Kids with Cancer
Funded Feb 9, 2012Thank you so much! We really needed the coin counter and coin rolls. By donating you helped us help kids with cancer. This year we will be able to turn in way more coins than any other year; we will now be able to provide daily updates to the classes which will encourage them to donate more. We usually spend hours after school counting and rolling the coins, but now we can do it in a faster and easier way. This will also give us more time to think of other ways to help more people.
We recently took a trip to The Children's Hospital of Los Angeles trip to visit some of the kids with cancer. This trip was incredibly meaningful to the children with cancer; they were so grateful. Also, my students were very impacted by this experience. It gave our students an opportunity to feel how to feels to help others and see the benefits of philanthropy.
So once again thank you so much for your support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
This classroom project was brought to life by Tony and Nanar Yoseloff and 21 other donors.The Year With No Words
Funded Dec 12, 2011The supplies you have generously donated to my SPIRIT class have helped us a lot already. I greatly appreciate you helping us in our time of need. We recently installed the ink and started to print; the kids were SO happy! I wish you could see their smiles. The students were very excited about finally being able to print, save documents from laptops and move them to the computers that print, as well as tape fliers up to let the school know about up & coming events. My students are also now able to save documents with the flash drives you have donated. They also were really touched by your kindness. They really appreciated that your foundation cared about them as students and wanted to help them succeed. Thank you so very much for the help.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 14 other donors.Cards For Our Cameras
Funded Mar 7, 2011Thank you ever so much for the flash drives, memory cards and camera. My students are very appreciative of your generosity. We have used these supplies this past semester. Since we only have 3 computers in the classroom, the flash drives aid students in saving their work and using these resources wisely. The students are now able to use the previously donated cameras that came without memory cards as well as the additional camera thanks to your donation. As you can see from the photos, the students have been documenting their hard work.
Since we can only post 6 photos to share with you, the students wanted to share some of their larger accomplishments. You can see them participating in a Sunday Anti-Defamation League Anti-Cyber-bullying Training that was organized by one of my leadership students. There is also a photo of them participating in the AIDS Walk also organized by another SPIRIT student. Additionally, the students organized a Denim Day (a day to educate and end sexual assault/violence) Assembly. The photo of the t-shirt display was part of this school-wide assembly. Although we did not have cameras to utilize at the time, students also facilitated other events such as Mix It Up Day-students who do not know each other are paired up & complete an informal interview sheet about each other and receive an ice cream for their participation and Lunch with the Principal-leadership students meet with the administration over lunch to discuss their concerns, ideas and get their questions answered.
Additionally, the students used the cameras to complete their semester project. As you may recall, each student in my class was paired up with a student form a different background/cultures. The students spent one day at each other's home/in their neighborhood. For their final project, the students shared their photos and adventures with the class.
Words cannot express how truly grateful and excited I am to receive your support! Thank you ever so much for such a meaningful gesture. Your personal commitment was incredibly helpful and allowed us to reach our goals. Your assistance means so much to me, but even more to my SPIRIT Students. Thank you from all of us. You truly did a wonderful thing. Your generosity will make an immediate difference in their lives. Again, thank you for making a difference!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
This classroom project was brought to life by The Horace Mann Companies and 3 other donors.Rock- Paper- Scissors
Funded Aug 30, 2010As you may know, SPIRIT stands for Student Problem Identification and Resolution Improvement Team. Our very diverse class works together to improve our school and to increase tolerance too. Your donation will enable these leadership students to accomplish their goals. Although you did not require the students to write thank you letters to you, I wanted to share some of their thoughts with you.
" We were in desperate need of supplies and really struggling. I am so glad that you took the time to select our project. Thank you for caring!" -Sally
" We really needed these supplies because I can't afford any of these supplies. Now we can do fun, educational projects." -Navid
"Thanks for providing the funds to Donor's Choose so that we could receive these essential school supplies. By giving us supplies we now know that giving is something we all should do. Someday there will be someone who needs my help and I know how important and meaningful it can be to help others. This opportunity will not only help our class, but also all the students at our school as our class works to make our campus a better place. We really needed these supplies to advertise for important events like the AIDS Walk, Coins for Cancer, and Anti-Defamation League Training. We really appreciate your help and have learned much from your example." -A.J.
" This shows how much you support education and us. This donation is so helpful. It will, for example, help me to carry out a cultural food fair. I'm going to have the various cultural clubs sell cultural foods, so students can learn about each other's cultures. " -Michael
"The supplies you provided will help me to facilitate a Power & Privilege activity that teaches freshman about racism, classism, etc. Thank you so much for this opportunity to continue our work." -Erika
"It takes a lot for me to actually smile and getting new school supplies truly put a smile on my face. I admire your commitment to service. Thank you for being such an impactful role model." -Dor
"I can now carry out my Mix It Up Day Project. This is an event that allows students from around campus who normally don't talk to meet one another." -Kourtney
"I couldn't believe we received so many materials! Thank you for helping us! we are pleased to know that we have been rewarded for all of our hard work. Thanks!" -Kathy
"The supplies you sent really helped my school because of the budget cuts we are really low on supplies. Also, my classmates and I don't have money for materials because our families are low on money too. " -Isaiah
" We will also now have different types of learning experiences that would also not have been possible without your support." -Bobby
Again, we are grateful that there are philanthropists out there like yourself that can help our class. Thank you for your commitment to our students and their futures!
”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
We Would Like To Read: The Kite Runner
Funded Sep 2, 2009Thank you for sending us the class set of "The Kite Runner" and a copy of the author reading the book. The books are read everyday during our sustained silent reading period and are put to good use. I have also given classroom activities that relate to the books.
Our high school is currently on a very low budget and every donation means a lot to us. We cannot thank you enough for the donation to our classroom, it truly means a lot to me and my class to know that there are places like this that help schools like ours.
School is a great place and with the right material it can be even better. Again, thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.Student Center
Funded Feb 13, 2009Dear Melissa, Robert, Jim Murphy, Marcelo Teson, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other anonymous donors:
Thank you so much for your generous donation to our Student Center. The SPIRIT Students have worked hard to create a safe and nurturing space for their peers. I am so proud of the work that they have done thanks to you! I also wanted to share teachers were encouraged to donate other needed items once they heard that our project was funded. As you can see from the photos the room has come a long way; again all thanks to you! I have already heard from IMPACT Students how appreciative they are for this new and improved room. I hope you will read some of the quotes I have posted. The items that you have donated will help students feel more comfortable for years to come. Thank you! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Brownell
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.