One of the activities for our advent was to “Give to a school in need.” We started out by reading Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson. The girls enjoyed the story of a man who helped to build a school in a small Pakistani village. They loved seeing the pictures of the children in their new school. Next, I explained that we could help a school that does not have all the things that they need to learn.

I told the girls that I had made a donation to a classroom that needed books and that I had received some lovely handmade thank-you cards from the students in the class.  When I took out the twenty handcrafted cards the girls were in awe and loved reading each and every letter. They were really touched and could not wait to get online to choose a project that they would like to support.

The wonderful thing about DonorsChoose.org is that you can search projects by city or by subject. We decided to help out a school nearby and then read all of the requests. The girls wanted to support children learning about the arts and we found a perfect match. The next morning we had already received an email from the teacher thanking us for the contribution.

The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations Chrissy!

Here is a little more information about DonorsChoose.org:

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need.

Here's how it works: public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class.

Then, you can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires you. Once a project reaches its funding goal, we deliver the materials to the school.

You'll get photos of your project taking place, a thank-you letter from the teacher, and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent. If you give over $100, you'll also receive hand-written thank-you letters from the students.

At DonorsChoose.org, you can give as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transparency, and feedback that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions. We call it citizen philanthropy.