So, you might all remember that I launched the First Annual Claire Danes/Apple/Cult of Mac Back to School Computer Challenge (or FACD/A/CoMBtSCC, for short), with the goal of funding eight amazing school chairty projects involving Macs and other Apple products.
It's all brought to you through the power of Donors Choose, a website that exists to empower teachers to ask for help in the areas they really need. We're in the middle of the challenge, 82 percent along the way to raising $15,000 and enhancing the education of dozens and dozens of students.
Earlier this year, I announced a similar challenge, for exactly one computer in one class in one school in Brooklyn. This week, I heard from Donors Choose, and the above adorable picture was in the package. If you contribute to our current challenge, a similar package could be yours, along with the glow of helping those in need. I was seriously touched.
The large white envelope came in the mail this week. Inside were threephotos of children using their new iMac and acting. The originalproject requested funding for the new computer so that third-gradersatP.S. 298 in Brooklyn could learn how to make films in iMovie, whichthey were never going to do without our help. They saw the Appledifference. In the picture above, you can see kids acting in themovie the class ultimately made.
This project still excites me, and the 2-day period where we cametogether to help fund it is one of the highlights of my life thus far.
We promoted education and Apple in one fell swoop. We also, quiteclearly, made 18 kids really happy. Writes the children's teacher, JudyChase-Marshall:
Dear Donors,
Your gift has brought unspeakable joy to my students along with themeans of opening up the flood fates of creativity and the imaginationsof young minds. Even my most reluctant writers are working feverishlyto produce scripts suitable for making into
movies.
My spelling and writing teams are working more collaboratively withthe hope of getting their scripts chosen for production and we havebeen considering extending our efforts to producing commercials andmusic videos. I am so pleased to see how engaged all the students arein using all the features that our new iMac has to offer and I amamazed at how patiently each student awaits his or her turn at "manningthe mouse" when we work on projects.
We are all excited at the great news that my principal has agreed tolet me move on to the fourth grade with my students since she alsobelieves that my integration of technology in my classroom hascontributed signficantly in my students' academic and socialdevelopment. These students will therefore have the opportunity toutilize your gift again next school year.
Thank you for your partnership in our learning experience and for making our wish to be real "movie makers" come true.
Sosweet. But what really tugs at the heart-strings are the letters fromkids. Here's a photo of a letter from young Cameron at P.S. 298:
Dears Donors,
I want to thank you for this iMac computer. We can work on it and do other things in our classroom.
We are learning how to make movies and video clips and soon we will make a music video.
This year my teacher taught me and my classmates how to use thecomputer. My favorite was using Microsoft Excel (Editor's note: We loveyou anyway, Cameron!) to create graphs.
I hope that I get Ms. Marshall for my teacher next year so I canlearn more great stuff and I will keep on writing scripts to makemovies on our iMac computer.
Yours truly,
Cameron.
Simply amazing. Last, but certainly not least, is this letter from Lonnie:
You guys rule. If you haven't contributed to this year's challenge, please click through on the thermometer.
