Give a child a book, a look at a larger world

I remember so vividly the day I went to the post office to buy stamps and the man in blue handed me a book of self-adhesive stamps! Of course! Why had it taken so long to move from licking stamps to peeling stamps? It all made sense to me, yet had never occurred to me–what a great idea.

I felt the same way the first time I visited DonorsChoose.org, a website where teachers post their needs and desires–from a simple rug for their classroom to an LCD projector to a set of books that tell children about life in other countries. Donors register, then search and choose the project they would like to fund, or partially fund–what a fantastic idea (hey, how about asking your company to fund projects for their holiday giving, as my friend Beth is doing?).

Teachers give so much of themselves–they are extraordinary in so many ways–and they often fund materials for their students themselves, on their often meager salaries. How about we help one teacher who wants to broaden her young students’ perspectives by buying multicultural materials for her classroom? Her project only costs $466, but has the potential to change lives.

Typepad is sponsoring a "blogger’s challenge," asking bloggers to invite their readers to contribute to teachers’ projects. A million times "yes" and the one I chose directly connects to my work in the field of diversity. I believe that together we can fulfill her dream, even one small contribution at a time. The 37days: Do it Now Challenge is here. Please help–our future in an increasingly diverse world depends on very young children being exposed to cultural, racial, and ethnic difference before their synapses close completely down–and by sponsoring this challenge, we can make it happen for what must be one very special Pre-K teacher in a low-income school in a small town in North Carolina….

If we raise more money than she needs, I’ll pick another like-minded project to fund–it sure would be a nice problem to have. Can you help?