I’m excited to share a holiday giveaway with you from Lands’ End! I love Lands’ End. I praise God every winter for my portable down comforter winter coat.
This year, Lands’ End is partnering with DonorsChoose.org. DonorsChoose is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help out students in need. Thousands of teachers are using DonorsChoose to request funding for innovative classroom projects. Lands End has already donated $10,000 to Wisconsin-area classrooms through the site.
Lands’ End kindly offered me a $25 gift certificate to donate toward a classroom of my choosing. Selecting a classroom was extremely difficult; it’s hard to believe that there are so many students who cannot afford basic school supplies. In the end, I choose to donate my dollars to a local special needs classroom in honor of friends whose families have been affected by developmental disorders.
I strategically chose a classroom with a match offer from a sponsor, so it’s as if I donated $50. Yes, I used a coupon on my charity donation. I am not ashamed.
More about my classroom:
Mrs. Grasshoff, Orchard Gardens Pilot School, Roxbury MA
My Students: Can you imagine having all your thoughts and ideas inside of you and not being able to express them to those around you? I have a class of eight 3-4-year-old students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. More than half of my class is non-verbal and have a difficult time communicating, leading to a lot of frustration for the students.
My Project: With your donation, our class will be able to have two classroom Voice Pods that can be used for many different classroom lessons. With a Voice Pod, the teacher is able to record the word or words to be paired with a picture. When the student pushes the button, the Voice Pod will speak the words for them. With these Voice Pods, our students will be given a chance to make requests and communicate their wants and needs.
Our students all deserve the chance to express themselves. These Voice Pods will help them do this. When they are able to appropriately express themselves, their frustration level will go down and make for a better learning environment for the entire class. The Voice Pods are reusable and can be adapted for every lesson and every classroom experience. These will be used over and over again for many years. Please help our students find their voice!
As of Thursday night, Mrs. Grasshoff only has $47 left to raise! You can help too.
What about the giveaway?
This week, I’ll be sharing more DonorsChoose stories from two of my blogger friends, Stephanie from SabbeSpot and Natalie from Greenleaf Goods. At the end of the week, I’m giving away a $25 gift certificate to DonorsChoose.org courtesy of Lands’ End so you, too, can share the love of learning with a classroom in need.
In order to enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this post indicating what classroom you would support with your gift certificate. Comments should be in by midnight on Thursday December 16, 2011. I’ll choose a winner on Friday via random.org.
In case you don’t win the gift certificate, I hope you’ll still consider making a small donation to a classroom. After all, the greatest gift of all is charity! (What, did you think it was going to be an iPad?)
Happy Holidays!
Update: The winner of the giveaway is Sally! Ms. Healey is going to get $25 for her classroom. Congrats!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
There are so many amazing stories! I don’t know specifically which charity I’d donate to, but it would be in the dancing/arts category for sure.
I love Roald Dahl, so I’d give to this project: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=645872
Great books! Thanks!
I would support my friend Ms. Healey – http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/1032808?historical=true She’s only a few years out of college, but already making a huge difference for kids with autism and rallying her friends to make an even bigger difference for her students.
Cool! Isn’t it crazy how we used to think our teachers were old and now we’re teacher-aged?
In honor of 80′s children all over the US, I would support this Oregon trail-like Westward Expansion project. http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=648413
Thanks!
Cat
I loved that game! My school used to do a lot of simulations…I think we did the Oregon Trail in 5th and 7th grades!
I have to say that I would be greedy and use the giftcard on my classroom project! I teach kindergarten and we are currently requesting a sand/water table. I want my little ones to be able to explore measurement and use their senses when interacting at the table.
My project can be found at http://www.donorschoose.org/mrsfarhat
Thank you!
You are a smart cookie! That looks like a great project. Spread the word and have your friends enter too.
Good luck!
Because I love my serger… http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=638769
I don’t exchange with many people, but try to get what they appreciate. For example, I hate to receive money myself, but I know that my mom-in-law typically appreciates money since she is living on a fixed income and (as she says) already has everything she needs). I usually get her a tiny personal gift (such as a frame for pictures of her great grandkids, or a book I know she wants to read) and then we will also give her a card with money in it. I really think whatever suits the receiver most, is the best.
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