Online Charity Brings Funds, Resources to Dearborn Schools

When kindergarten teacher Mariam Farhat first heard that she could raise money for her classroom with little to no effort, no one blamed her for questioning it.

But after she posted her first “project” at donorschoose.org and it was funded, Farhat was pleased, to say the least.

“I was, of course, skeptical,” said Farhat, who learned of the website from another teacher. “I just didn’t think that complete strangers would donate money to my classroom.”

Twenty-four projects and $10,855 worth of supplies donated to projects posted by Dearborn schoolteachers, however, has Farhat convinced.

“We all know how things are with school finances,” she said. “This is a great program because donors can choose who they’ll donate to.”

Donors Choose is an online charity that practices citizen philanthropy by allowing teachers to post projects–supplies, instruments, furniture or anything else that is needed to make a classroom a better place for learning. Browsers then can search the projects in their community and make a donation, sometimes as small as a dollar.

When the entire cost of a project is paid for, Donors Choose notifies the school and mails the items directly to the schools.

Farhat has been able to procure work tables, a rug, MP3 players and countless other supplies that directly benefit students in the classroom. 

Donors Choose also prevents the need for teachers to have to buy supplies out of their own pocket–an increasingly common practice in cash-strapped districts such as Dearborn.

And she’s not the only teacher that has turned to the charity to fund supplies. Kelly Muston, a teacher at , is currently seeking visual materials used for math education through Donors Choose, and sought out the program when the district implemented a .

"I used it for electronic tag readers that students can use to read text, or have it read to them, if they can't read it to themselves;" she said. The readers fit into the Daily Five components of reading to oneself, and listening to reading.

Other schools in Dearborn outside of the public school district are also seeking donations. Sarah Street, a special education teacher at Horace Mann Charter School in Dearborn, is seeking to raise $475 for communications equipment and supplies for her mostly Iraqi students.

“This worked really well when I worked at another school,” she said. “I hope it does again, because the students need (the materials).”

Brian Whiston, the superintendent of Dearborn Schools, said he’s happy teachers are seeking ways to accommodate students, but wishes they did not have to take this step.

“It is a shame staff must resort to this–but it is the times we live in,” he said. “I prefer they go through the (Dearborn Education) Foundation, but if they want to do it directly–it is fine, as long as they have their principals’ OK.”

For Farhat, any means of obtaining supplies that help students is fine with her.

“It’s a great way to provide classroom materials,” she said.

Want to help local teachers in need? Head to donorschoose.org and visit the page of Dearborn projects.