Ever since the news broke on March 28, newsrooms have been buzzing about our #BestSchoolDay surprise: Ripple’s donation to fund all 35,647 classroom projects on DonorsChoose.org.Our favorite part has been seeing the stars of this story — teachers everywhere — getting a moment in the spotlight for their incredible work and dedication to their students.Below are just a few of the many articles covering #BestSchoolDay 2018!
The New York Times: How to Get $29 Million for Classroom Projects? Just AskHeather Vibbert, a special-education teacher [at Marina Del Rey Middle School], had six requests fulfilled as a result of this week’s donation.As a result, her students, many of them from low-income households, will benefit from new science DVDs, a Blu-ray player, art supplies and individual white boards, among other things. The highlight, though, will be a Google Expeditions Kit, which will enable them to take virtual field trips.“I can guide them through the ocean bottom or Mars or any kind of crazy place we can dream of, which I’m very excited about,” Ms. Vibbert said. “That was kind of my big aspirational project that I never thought would get funded, but it never hurts to ask.”Read the full article
CNN: Every single teacher on a crowdfunding site just got their wishes fulfilledWhen it comes to educating America's children, how much of a difference could $29 million make? Could it send a second grader on a school trip to the museum, or provide updated equipment to a class of budding scientists?It can. In fact, it can do it 35,647 times.Read the full article
San Francisco Chronicle: Bonanza for schools as SF crypto king Ripple gives $29M to DonorsChoose.orgLily Jefferies had no idea her dream of taking a class of public high school students camping in the Grand Canyon was about to come true. The science teacher at Coliseum College Preparatory Academy in Oakland had used DonorsChoose.org before, to buy calculators and even pencils. The out-of-state trip was a big ask — more than $4,000 — but she figured there was no harm in trying.Many of her environmental science students have never been out of California, she said. She wants to “get them away from their phones, away from Oakland,” and into nature to see geology up close, to study the history of indigenous people.“The kids keep asking me about it,” she said. But she’s only been able to tell them she doesn’t have the funding yet. On Wednesday, she will have a different answer.Read the full article
Fast Company: A $29 Million Cryptocurrency Donation Just Funded Every Project on DonorsChoose.orgOverall, that funding will reach over 28,200 teachers (some had multiple requests) at more than 16,500 schools, according to a DonorsChoose estimate. “It’s honestly the biggest day in our 18-year history,” says DonorsChoose founder and CEO Charles Best, who notes that the requests being met included things like books, microscopes, butterfly cocoon and robotics kits, and funds for field trips or to bring in class visitors. “[It was] anything and everything you could ever imagine a teacher needing to engage their students.”Read the full article
EdSurge: Inside the $29M DonorsChoose Gift That’s Making Teachers Very HappyOn Tuesday night, Chicago teacher Amani Ghusein stayed up late to watch TV. She had heard there might be a special announcement relating to one of her favorite education websites, DonorsChoose.org, and was curious to know more.She was glad she did.“I was not expecting that,” says Ghusein, who had five active projects on the site totalling $3,600, including requests for a Cricut Explore craft machine and three types of robots. “I thought they were going to do something small, like fund every special education project or something—but funding every project? That’s beyond amazing.”Read the full articleWBZ CBS 4 Boston: Cryptocurrency Company’s $29 Million Donation Funds Thousands of Classroom Projects
KPIX CBS 5 San Francisco: Cryptocurrency Startup Donates $29M for Classroom Resources
KFOR Oklahoma’s News 4: Company provides $29 million for teacher projects, including several across Oklahoma
