Past projects 19
Help Hershey (The Rabbit Librarian of Harlem)
Funded Dec 4, 2024Thank you so much for your abundant generosity! The project you helped fund will give Hershey a play pen that will help students observe and interact with him. Your donation will keep Hershey healthy and happy for many years. The stuffle mat and litter box will also make his quality of life so much better.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 8 other donors.Growing Strong in Harlem
Funded Nov 19, 2023I had no idea how invested students would become in watching plants grow! Students have been astonished to know that the propagated plants are thriving.
Additionally, the plants offer more than just scientific observation, they make the library feel more comfortable and lived in.
Small additions like this have huge impacts because they add to the learning environment for students. Walls, books, and shelves make a library, but high student engagement gives it a little something more for our community!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 4 other donors.Harlem Library Glow-Up
Funded Aug 14, 2024Thanks so much for your donation! My library students were so enthusiastic about everything you helped give them.
When I first got the 1000 piece puzzle, I thought it would take at least a month to complete. But my students locked-in and completed it in six days! They were so proud of themselves and when working on it, they were so quiet and largely off their phones!
The bookmarks with their inspirational messages have also done a lot for students. They enjoy the randomness of getting a special message -- and I can write a quick reminder of when books are due. :)
Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.Kick Starting A Harlem Library for the 2024-2025 School Year
Funded Aug 22, 2024Thanks for kick starting the year for my students. The library is a place that is still developing and your donation is helping it grow into a place students want to be.
All of the materials help students feel like they are in a comfortable place -- almost a home away from home.
The lamps means we can turn off the "big lights" which makes the library feel clinical. With the new lighting scheme, students feel like they can really get comfortable enough to do whatever learning they need.
The curtains soften the space and filters the light from the outside. And every library where students are regularly borrowing books needs carts to truck books back into the collection where they await the next student to check them out.
Thank you so much!!!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 8 other donors.Building Community in a Harlem Library
Funded Sep 18, 2023Thanks so much for your donations. It's been such a pleasure and honor to be a steward to these materials. The various materials have been used by so many students to build community.
Older students and younger students regularly come to the library. Some come to study quietly, others come to find books, while others use the space and the games to build community.
I have seen intense games of UNO, and 12th graders guiding 6th graders through their first chess game. Students take chances and play games they haven't played before and learn to play with one another.
Thanks so much for your donation!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
Help a Harlem Library Roar!
Funded Aug 22, 2023Thank you so much. Your contribution to our library is helping students feel safe and valued in our library. The signage protectors help students be more independent in the search of the books they're looking for in our collection. Primarily they show the Dewey Decimal System in our library so students know where Fiction, Biography, Technology, and Graphic Novels are on the shelves.
The rainbow window film also gives students a sense of privacy in the library. They block some of the traffic in the hallway and allows students in the library to feel like they're somewhere else entirely.
The caddies are super helpful when we need to prepare for projects. They store and distribute materials so easily!
Thanks so much for helping our library. :)”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
Harlem Library Needs Scanners
Funded Jun 29, 2023Thank you so much for the gift of the scanners! By automating our library, students are able to check in and check out library books with more efficiently.
During their lunch period and during free periods, students are allowed access to the school library. Previously, the retirement of the previous librarian and the COVID-19 lock down, students were not given regular access to the library.
Now word is spreading among students that the library is functioning and has books that can be checked out and traffic to the library has increased. These scanners are helping students access books and other library materials!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
Harlem Students Reading Ancient Rebels
Funded Oct 28, 2022Thank you so much for helping us get a class set of Antigone. It's really opened up students to a new kind of reading. It's amazing how they were able to gravitate to some of the themes of rebellion, family, and man's law vs. gods' law.
It also came at a great time because a local theater in Harlem also had a production over the summer so my students were able to watch a version of it where the cast was deliberately a mirror of Harlem.
More poignantly, in seeing this production, we were made aware of a project called "Antigone in Ferguson." It overlayed the tragic killing of Michael Brown to the death of Antigone's brother to bring to light the injustices in America.
In our class we performed parts of it, read aloud others, and had small groups read together to dissect meaning. Ultimately, a project where students could choose how they expressed their learning was completed. Some students read lines and explained why those lines were vitally important. Another choice was to do a Hollywood pitch where students could cast, conceptualize a setting, and develop a soundtrack. It was a great way to show how students learned and connected to the text.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
Lending Library for Harlem Readers
Funded May 25, 2021The pandemic has changed so much, but one thing that I have tried to do as a teacher is to continue to find ways to innovate my classroom and to allow my students a degree of freedom and choice. And the gift of the scanner for my classroom library enables both.
This is exciting to my students! In addition to the novelty, it allows them a degree of freedom and this is exciting for me because this helps me stay organized with my book inventory.
The self proclaimed "readers" of my class have been more excited about this, but I am seeing more of my students have their curiosity pique from the scanner.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma
Harlem Students Print, Scan, and Copy to College!
Funded Apr 17, 2019Thank you so much for your very generous donations! Something as basic as a 3-In-One printer, scanner, copier is a blessing in my classroom. Often times, the printing at my school is unreliable and having these materials in my classroom for my college bound seniors makes all the difference.
Being able to turn documents into PDFs to send them along with college applications helps my students be considered for gaining access to programs that will help them financially and academically when they get to the school of their choice.
The other added benefit is that I have my seniors print and display their acceptances as a way to inspire my younger students! They decorate my classroom with their acceptances and I encourage underclassmen to see all the places our seniors can go! So thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Ma