Past projects 15
Help for Business Nerds
Funded Nov 30, 2022Thank you!!! I am thrilled by the opportunities your generosity has offered. My kids will be able to explore so many cool ways of learning with the idea of keeping everything new and engaging, so kids pay attention… it’s hard to keep up with Snapchat and BeReal. Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 9 other donors.Flags to Celebrate Our Diverse Mustang Nation!
Funded Aug 9, 2022Thank you for helping our kids with this amazing project. We have arranged for experts to help us hang the flags to ensure we are respectful and follow the code. We are extremely excited about this permanent addition to our school. Your donation makes this all possible and we are exceedingly grateful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and one other donor.Budgeting Tools for Special Needs Students
Funded Aug 8, 2022Thank you JEF for helping us do awesome things! This project is going to be an amazing experience for the kids, teachers, and schools. I am humbled by my students' desire to help kids with differing abilities and their determination to figure out the most respectful method for doing so. This one's going to be pretty awesome.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab and one other donor.Make Remote Learning Possible
Funded Aug 3, 2020Thank you for helping me get a start this year. We are adapting daily as we learn more about this virus and it’s implications for both in school and virtual classrooms. Remote learning will definitely be an exciting challenge requiring constant adaptation. We are looking forward to the experience”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
A Laptop That Weighs Less Than My Desk
Funded Jun 2, 2018Please forgive my belated "thank you"... This year has been a bit insane. Thank you for your kind donation and for allowing me to purchase the equipment I need to allow me to present at several conferences on teaching best practices.
I used this laptop at a national conference for my presentation, "Tips by a Recovering Lawyer on How to Treat Students Like a Jury." The conference was attended by major decision makers, including administrators, superintendents, and legislators. I was confident in my technology which made my entire presentation much easier and gave the presentation the gravitas it needed.
As we're getting back to school in a Covid-filled world, my next Donor's Choose projects will address health and safety for kids (our state board of education is recommending HEPA filters) as well as items needed to livestream classes (computers with the ability to detach screens and write on the tablet portion and a body mic). This is such a strange world right now, but I'm hoping to wrap my head around how to make class as normal and safe as possible, so kids can focus on learning.
Thank you again for being on our team.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
Soles 4 Souls
Funded Nov 15, 2018Yeah!!!! Thanks for Chevron and all of you my students have learned an amazing lesson about crowdfunding. This couldn't come at a better time. We spent yesterday on a field trip to one of our largest homeless nonprofits. My students quizzed them aggressively on their business model and fundraising methods and shared their experience on Donors Choose and the donations shared by each of you. They are going to be thrilled when I share this news.
Thank you!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron Fuel Your School and 7 other donors.Help Students Learn How to Help Themselves
Funded Sep 24, 2018Thank you for all of your donations! We are fully funded and can begin making our tins. Your support will help us distribute vital resource information to 5,000 of our students. We are thrilled to oversee this opportunity and to see the impact on these kids.
Thank you on behalf of myself and my kids.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
This classroom project was brought to life by The Home Shows Coalition and 12 other donors.Our Wedding Registry for Winter Coats for Our Homeless Students
Funded Sep 27, 2017I started the year with the idea of buying shoes, backpacks, sleeping bags and tents for students in need at my school. Shoes are expensive and, for teenagers, disposable for the most part. Backpacks were needed for our food pantry, so students could take canned food home without being stigmatized as the "homeless kid." The sleeping bags and tents filled a need I didn't realize we had until one of our students confessed that he was sleeping behind a convenience store and had been doing so for the better part of his junior year. I chose to create a DonorsChoose registry, thinking that if it didn't get completed, I could finish it with personal funds. That registry was filled within a day, so we decided to create a bigger registry, this time seeking winter coats. I could never have imagined what would follow.
The story was picked up by our local news media who later posted a story on their website. That article was picked up by the Associated Press and the story went crazy. I woke up on a Sunday to messages from around the world, many of which I had to copy into Google Translate. The article was translated into newspapers in China, Brazil, and Vietnam. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese paper got it a bit wrong as they told their readers I was selling children in America... pretty certain I'm no longer welcome in Vietnam. My students were thrilled when "NBC Nightly News" filmed at our school for an entire day and giggled as the camera men powdered my face. Then came "The Rachael Ray Show" which required "hero shots," me reading lines (I was quite horrible at that and I'm positive there is hysterical footage of me swearing like a sailor... the camera men thought this was extremely funny), and a trip to New York where Burlington Coat Factory graciously added to our donations.
All in all we ended up with $38,471 in pure Donor's Choose donations, plus $20,000 in cash ($10K to our teachers + another $10K to an elementary school in our district), another 1,000 coats from Burlington Coat Factory (estimated at $15,000), and a $5,000 donation from Sonic's Limeades for Learning. We were able to give a coat to every student in need in my district and then donate coats to an adjoining district whose need is even greater than ours. I personally handed out coats at a school where over 95% of the student population received significant government aid. We gave a new coat to every single kid at that school. I watched my students struggle with tears as they helped kids pick out the first new coat they had ever received. I truly wish you could have seen how those coats changed those kids.
I helped a second grader who wore a dirty, threadbare princess jacket. She was shy and appeared overwhelmed by the craziness surrounding us. I pulled one of the coats and helped her put it on. She unzipped it and gave it back to me. I handed her another and again, after trying it on, she handed it back to me. On the third coat, I helped her zip it up and asked her if she liked it. She nodded sadly and started to unzip it. I stopped her hand and said, "why don't you keep this one then?" She could not comprehend and asked questioningly, "I can keep it?" We both teared up when I said "absolutely." I so wish you could have been there.
What you didn't see is what followed. For an entire year, our students have been completing service projects inspired by your generosity. They created food pantries at neighboring schools, prepared lunches for our homeless shelter, tied blankets for dogs at our animal shelter, and the list goes on. Your donation contributed to a chain of kindness.
I am deeply grateful for your donation and contribution to this amazing story. Thank you on behalf of myself, my family, and my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
This classroom project was brought to life by Life Essentials Supporters and 47 other donors.Our Wedding Registry for Winter Coats for Our Homeless Students
Funded Aug 31, 2017It's now the end of our school year and a perfect time for reflecting on the blessings we have experienced. You made a dramatic impact on the lives of my students, their siblings and our staff.
My students learned first hand the kindness of strangers. We put out a crazy, but simple idea: tell folks our students struggle with buying winter coats and ask for help to buy some coats. The response was simply overwhelming. We received donations from throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and even Vietnam. Even today, I receive small packages from absolute strangers: a pair of gently worn shoes from Kentucky, a shirt from Japan, warm hats and gloves from a woman in Chicago. All provided by the pure kindness of strangers, like you, who heard about our need and reached out to help. The thoughtfulness we experienced was overwhelming.
We were blessed with enough coats to provide a new winter coat to every student in need in my district, not just my school, but their younger siblings as well. We have a school for severely disabled students and you cannot imagine the smiles of those kids when they were able to hold a brand new coat. It was a sight to see.
With the generosity of an additional donation from Burlington Coat Factory, we were able to donate coats to another school district whose need was even deeper than ours. We gave a new coat to every single student in an elementary school whose student population is over 95% free/reduced school lunch. I personally gave coats to kids who barely spoke English. I was instantly humbled by a 7 year old who, when asked what color she preferred, responded, "I just want a warm one." Together we tried on four different coats until she found one with a fur-lined hood. She rubbed her little cheek on that fur and smiled. I wish you could have seen how that coat changed her and her classmates.
The extent of your kindness is unfathomable. I have been deeply impacted by your generosity and am incredibly grateful. Thank you for being you and for helping my kids.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
This classroom project was brought to life by Life Essentials Supporters and 38 other donors.Coats and Backpacks for Our Grizzlies
Funded Jul 23, 2017This is the project that started the craziest whirlwind in my life. We decided to create an "in lieu of gifts" registry for our wedding so folks, like my mom, could give donate to kids at my school instead of traditional wedding gifts. Little did we know, this project would snowball into four more projects and result in a total of over 3,000 coats, 15 backpacks, 15 pairs of shoes, and an incredible number of happy and warm children.
The coats have arrived daily over several weeks by amazingly patient UPS drivers. We have stacked them high in our library and have been amazed as the stacks are picked up, distributed, and then replaced with even more coats.
Last week I traveled with my students to an elementary school where 97% of the kids qualify for free/reduced school lunch. We gave a new coat to every-single-student in the school. This was the first new coat these students had ever received. It was so incredibly heartwarming to help the kids choose their coats, watching them struggle for words. I helped a boy choose a coat, offering him green, orange, or black options. He responded simply, "I want a warm one." We tried on 4 different coats until he found one with a fur lining on the hood. He rubbed his cheek along the fur and his face lit up in a glorious smile. I truly wish each of you could have seen the joy your gifts brought.
Thank you for helping me with this journey. I am humbled by your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Stewart
This classroom project was brought to life by Life Essentials Supporters and 7 other donors.