This week, we’re helping a Virginia preschool revamp its library, and a North Carolina first grade get some exciting STEM kits. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help by sharing or supporting our featured projects.
The Inoculation Project is an ongoing, volunteer effort to crowdfund science, math, and literacy projects for public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
Eastern Bluebird makes this report in the comments:
HANDY TIP: The “BHM” code works and will help double your donation for our #2 project this week.
If you use that code when checking out for BOTH projects, it will be applied to both projects and deplete the funds set aside for BHM projects. I checked out each project separately so that the matching funds from the Cameron Foundation get applied to project #1.
We’ve made so much progress on this former project #2, now it’s project #1!
Ms. Wilson needs to revamp and modernize the library at her Virginia preschool, in a small city south of Richmond. Currently, 2x matching funds are still available from The Cameron Foundation: Based in Petersburg, Virginia, The Cameron Foundation strives to transform the Tri-Cities and surrounding counties into a healthy, vibrant and economically vital region by strategically leveraging resources for community impact. It focuses on six outcome areas: healthy residents, education excellence, cultural richness, a vital economy, vibrant communities and dynamic nonprofits.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students a renewed and renovated library space with a variety of STEM and literacy toys for preschoolers!
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Woodlawn Learning Center, Hopewell, Virginia
Total: $934.28 (2x matching funds from The Cameron Foundation)
Still Needed: $361.05 $155.75 ($78 from us)
Project description by Ms. Wilson: Our preschool library is in desperate need of an update to better serve our young learners and provide them with an engaging, interactive space for exploration. Currently, the library is outdated and lacks the functionality necessary to support the developmental needs of our students. To help revamp this important area, we are requesting donations of materials and age-appropriate toys that will inspire creativity, curiosity, and a love of learning.
The goal of this project is to transform our library into an inviting, hands-on learning environment that encourages active participation.
By incorporating educational toys, interactive games, and engaging activities, we aim to create a space where children can explore new ideas, develop motor skills, and foster their imaginations.
With your support, we can create a functional, inspiring library space that will not only benefit the students we serve today but also future generations of learners. Together, we can build a brighter, more engaging future for our preschool community.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
I think this is the set of alphabet transformers being requested, but if not, it’s similar. You… probably won’t need to watch every letter transform to get the idea.
Our new project helps first-graders in a North Carolina town not too far south of Winston-Salem. Mrs. Tysinger needs some interesting STEM materials (and a few books) to inspire her class to learn more science!
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students STEM resources to be innovative and creative! The Makey Makey will allow students to turn everyday items into touchpads and the Ozobot will allow students to have hands-on learning with math and programming.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Southwest Elementary School, Lexington, North Carolina
Total: $385.39
Still Needed: $374.51 $235.09
Project description by Mrs. Tysinger: The students I teach come from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. I teach first graders at a Title I school. I am fortunate to have a diverse group of students. At our school, we have a high poverty level. All of our students receive free breakfast and lunch. Several students receive special education resource and ELL services. One thing all my students have in common is that they love learning. My students are in need of some materials. The Makey Makey will provide my students with creative hands-on STEM practice. The Ozobot will help students with math, science and coding skills. The charger will make sure that everything is ready to go and the sheet protectors will help keep materials ready for different groups. The books will provide students with reading material and the bug viewer will allow students to safely observe live insects.
The Makey Makey and Ozobot will give my students an engaging way to practice STEM skills.
This will enhance the classroom that I strive to create. I use these materials over multiple years and it make a difference in many lives. My students are thankful for the hands on learning opportunities.
Please consider supporting my students. You will be making a difference in their future by helping students build life long skills with these learning materials.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Here’s a description of the requested “Makey Makey” kit. This is short and I think you'll enjoy it.
Our project #1 from last week was completed! Thank you to our intrepid readers for, as usual, providing the bulk of the funding!
Project #1, STEMming the Gap: Bring Science Kits to Autism Classroom: Ms. Cait’s high-school-age autistic students in Las Vegas needed materials to engage them in learning science.
She writes: Thank you all for your contributions to our projects! They are coming just in time for our science unit and I cannot be more grateful. Thank you to the Daily [K]os for featuring my project as well - I have never heard of it before and will be checking it out! Have a beautiful holiday weekend if you are all in the states, and I will be sure to send updates and photos with my thank you package.
Ms. Cait was also as good as her word, for she made an account at Daily Kos and came to our thread after the project was funded to leave a comment. (I’m pretty sure it is not too late to reply to her, although it’s not clear that she’ll be looking for replies — probably better, if you donated, to reply to her at her project if you have further comments.)
She wrote: Hi Belinda and group!
I made an account just to send you this thank you message! I'm Ms. Cait, and you wrote about our science kit project. This is my second year as a teacher. I had not heard of The Inoculation Project before- I am glad I was able to read up on it. I am very thankful for the boost on our science project kit! We have an adapted curriculum- but it's not the most accessible. At Helen J., our kids are cognitively very low, and reading stories about more abstract topics like energy circuits, magnetism, and battery power just do not connect with them. They have got to feel it, see it, and experience science to understand. The materials your group has graciously donated for will be put to good use! Your efforts and generosity are seen, heard, and felt. Thank you for choosing me to spotlight, and I hope you have a really wonderful week.
| DonorsChoose has developed the designation Equity Focus Schools to describe some schools that submit projects. They meet two criteria: at least 50% of students are Black, Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander, or multiracial, and at least 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, the standard measure for school economic need. You can read more at the link about their efforts to address the longstanding inequity in education. |
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project seeks to fund science, math, and literacy projects in public school classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose, a crowdfunding charity founded in 2000 and highly rated by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau.
Every Sunday, we focus on helping to fund projects in neighborhood public schools where the overwhelming majority of students come from low-income households. We welcome everyone who supports public school education — no money is required!
Finally, here’s our list of successfully funded projects — our series total is 1155! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
