Teachers using Web site to find project benefactors

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Gas!

This is the tag line an Anderson elementary teacher used recently after high gasoline prices threatened to cancel a fourth grade class trip to the Barrier Island in South Carolina. The teacher anonymously posted a description of the marine biology field trip plans on the DonorsChoose Web site with an eye towards funding the $1,000 cost for 32 students.

A first grade teacher in Gaffney used the same Web site earlier this fall to seek donations for purchasing 6 to 10 LeapPad learning centers. At a cost of $35, the local teacher felt strongly the interactive educational toy would be valuable in helping first grade students who struggled with reading.

“I am a first grade teacher with two students who are learning English as a second language. I have learning centers stationed around my classroom in order to promote literacy,” the Gaffney teacher wrote. “I just cannot afford these stations. I do believe in their ability to assist beginning readers because I have used one in the past. I could use these to send home with my students who do not speak English at home.”

DonorsChoose works similar to the popular e-Bay auctions on the Internet.

Teachers seeking additional funds for their classroom post descriptions of projects on the DonorsChoose Web site (www.scdonorschoose.com). Individuals or businesses can search teacher requests on the Web site and fund the projects they like best.

The donor then purchases the supplies and ships them directly to the classroom. Thank you notes and photos sent from the teacher and students allow donors to receive feedback on the results of their classroom gift.

DonorsChoose was started in 2000 by Charles Best, a teacher in Bronx, N.Y., as an effort to match potential fundraising sources with classroom needs. The Web site has funded more than $4 million in projects for students to use in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area and North Carolina.

South Carolina is only the second state to use the method to fund academic projects. The service has been available in South Carolina since October.

“DonorsChoose enables teachers not just to go public with learning needs in classrooms, but also to unleash their imaginations about the best ideas to help students learn,” said Best, who now serves as DonorsChoose president.

To date, teachers statewide have submitted more than 300 proposals. They include projects with catchy names like “Don’t Let Genetics Concepts (Fruit) Fly By” ($428 cost) to “Who Gives a Hoot?” ($908).

DonorsChoose has formed partnerships with groups such as Duke Power, ETV, First Federal Bank, and the Coastal Community Foundation to attract public school projects and the participation of donors.

The Grants Office at the state Department of Education will help teachers in preparing their proposals. For help, teachers should visit:

www.myscschools.com