MrsJanasDonorsChooseThere are no bigger heroes in daily society than teachers.

Teachers are entrusted with our children to teach them while working through the societal, social, and political issues to ensure that our future is educated. In the face of attack by people who think they know better and politicians who want them to do more with less, most teachers are dedicated individuals who are teaching for love. They cannot be doing it for the money because we misguidedly shortchange teachers who will use part of their meager salaries to buy supplies.

With the start of a new school year approaching, I would like to ask Coin Collectors Blog readers to help support a teacher in Philadelphia who is trying to raise money to take a field trip to the U.S. Mint and the Federal Reserve.

Mrs. Janas, a teacher at Juaniata Park Academy in Philadelphia, is trying to raise money to lease school busses to transport her students on these field trips. Her fundraiser says that her “students would love to expand their knowledge and be able to identify with the real world today and visit places around the area.” Visiting the Philadelphia Mint would be a great field trip!

The fundraiser is being hosted on a website called DonorsChoose.org. Those not familiar with the site, it was started in 2000 by a public school teacher without the resources to purchase books for his students. He built DonorChoose.org to bring together those who want to help with public school teachers who are trying to do their job with the little resources.

DonorsChoose.org is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation making all donation tax deductible to the maximum extent of the law. As part of the service, DonorsChoose.org has staff that vets every request and can work with the vendors to bring down prices. With some charities you worry about how much money is going to the project versus how much is being used in other fees. Not with DonorsChoose.org. On every project page they show you exactly where the money is spent. They are very transparent with their operations!

I learned about DonorsChoose.org several years ago and have tried to donate to at least one project every year.

Mrs. Janas is asking for $400 to lease the busses for the trips. Along with the other fees and a suggested 15-percent donation to DonorsChoose.org, the project can be funded for $512.92. However, donations to this project are being matched by Dottie Lutz, an advocate for education in the Philadelphia area. This project can be funded for a total of $256.46!

Aside that these children are the promise of our future, maybe a few would become interested in numismatics. Seeing the exhibits and learning how money is made can inspire these children to become collectors. And as inner-city students in a minority community, adding this diversity to the hobby is one of the best gifts we can give the hobby.

MY CHALLENGE

It will take at least nine readers of the Coin Collectors Blog with donations of $25.00 to fund this project after I make my donation. If my readers fund this project, I will contact Mrs. Janas and offer to travel to Philadelphia to give a presentation about numismatics in daily life to her students. Of course I will bring a few nicer items but the concentration will be on the convergence between numismatics, math, and economics.

UPDATE: I made my donation! I left a message on the page pointing to this post.

Will you please join me?

Image courtesy of DonorsChoose.org

Pin It on Pinterest

%d bloggers like this: