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Free Stuff for Your Class. (It's Easier Than You Think)

Elementary/Middle School/High School

If you’re like most teachers, you’ve been there: You have a classroom full of impressionable students and a great idea to get them excited about learning. What you don’t have are the materials to pull it off, or the funding to make it happen. Back in 2000, a teacher in the Bronx was faced with the same situation. He wanted to transport the kids in his urban public school district to the American Midwest of the 1800s through the pages of Little House on the Prairie. But he could only get his hands on one copy. As he was making photocopies for students, he thought about all the people in his neighborhood and across America who might be willing to help. Then he sketched out a website that could easily connect teacher requests with willing contributors, and DonorsChoose.org was born.

DonorsChoose.org is absolutely free for K-12 teachers in public schools to use and it only takes about 30 minutes to create a project. Just select the materials you need from Ward’s Science or other vendors, answer a few short questions about your project and, if you meet your funding goal, DonorsChoose.org will order everything for you and ship it straight to your school. All that’s left is for you and your students to thank your donors with notes and project photos.

Get started

Quick facts about DonorsChoose.org:

  • The average cost of a funded project is $568 and the average wait time for funding is 27 days
  • Teachers at 81% of public schools in the U.S. have posted a project
  • Nearly half a million teachers’ projects have been funded, helping over 32 million students
  • Over 3.6 million people have donated to projects
  • Nearly $800 million has been raised for classroom projects

Here's what science teachers who have used DonorsChoose.org to successfully fund their projects are saying:

“You guys so totally rock. My students are loving their new Aquaponics system from Ward’s Science. They’re learning alternative ways to growing fresh and healthy food. This was an expensive piece of science equipment. We would not have had this learning experience without your generous donations.”

Mrs. Chastain, middle school science teacher, South Carolina

“Your donations will impact my students’ lives in ways I can't even describe. Who knows what or when a student will be inspired to be the next scientist, astronaut, or physicist? Hands-on materials like these are just what students need to not only understand science but to also inspire them to do great things in the future. Thanks for helping to inspire the future generation.”

Mr. Smith, middle school science teacher, Alabama
 

So, what are you waiting for? Start a project now at DonorsChoose.org.

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