Restoring sanity, one classroom at a time

I was in New York last week and decided I’d stop by the Donors Choose offices.  I love Donors Choose because when people use their service, they become hooked on supporting education.  They see what a little money can do to help our teachers, our schools, and our kids.  It pays dividends.  So when Charles came into the meeting and told me that they had one of only two tents on the National Mall at this weekend’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, I had an idea…

Me: “Hey, can you get me backstage to hang out with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart?”

Charles: “Probably not.”

So I had another idea.  This one focused on Bing’s REDU efforts to spark the conversation and involvement around rethinking and rebuilding education in this country.  So after a couple of mugs of mint tea (they don’t have coffee in their offices, not that I’m still bitter) we figured out that we should join forces with Donors Choose this Saturday and give the tens of thousands of people present on the Mall a way to learn about how they can get involved with REDU and help a school using DonorsChoose.org. 

The result?  We’re excited to announce REDU will be on the National Mall in the Donors Choose tent during the rally giving out $100,000 in Donors Choose donation cards to anyone who stops by.  We have computers set up so people can find the classroom they want to help and donate on the spot.  We’ll have information about REDU and Donors Choose and a whole host of volunteers there to answer questions about both programs.  Can’t make the march?  Just go to the REDU page on Donors Choose and choose a project using the Donation Map!

In short, this is our little mini-Rally to Restore some sanity to our educational system.  It’s a small step, but we all know that progress is made inches at a time.  So come see us Saturday from 12-3pm on the National Mall in Washington D.C.  Just look for the Donors Choose tent right next to the main information tables and come on in.  And who knows, maybe Colbert will stop by.  But as Charles said, “probably not.”

Stefan Weitz- Bing