This week, we’re helping a Las Vegas elementary class get storybooks they can see themselves in, and a Houston pre-kindergarten get a good assortment of magnetic building toys. 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.
We have a new project #1 today, and our #2 project still has matching funds available, so we’re ready to rock!
Our new project is at a Las Vegas elementary school. Mrs. Frazier’s students are very diverse and face many challenges at home. She’s thinking that stories that reflect their own communities will help engage them with books.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students picture books that reflect the experiences, cultures, and identities of underrepresented children.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Marshall C Darnell Elementary School, Las Vegas, Nevada
Total: $194.12
Still Needed: $174.12 $129.12
Project description by Mrs. Frazier: I am requesting funding to purchase picture books that reflect the experiences, cultures, and identities of my underrepresented students. Access to diverse books helps students see themselves in stories and learn about others’ experiences, promoting empathy, literacy, and a love of reading. This project will expand our library collection to ensure every child feels seen, valued, and inspired.
Many of our students do not currently have access to many books that reflect their backgrounds or cultures.
Diverse literature supports literacy development, social-emotional learning, and cultural awareness. Providing inclusive picture books helps students build identity, understanding, and empathy in a multicultural world.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Two books in Stacey Abrams’ picture book series are in this request.
This project has a rare 3x match from an anonymous “Friend in Houston”! So, each $1 we donate will be matched by $2 from our “Friend”!
Ms. Searles teaches pre-kindergarten in Houston. She needs a good assortment of magnetic building toys, to support her students’ learning.
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students hands on learning tools with magnets and magnetic creative centers.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: A.G. Hilliard Elementary School, Houston, Texas
Total: $979.51 (3x matching funds from A Friend in Houston)
Still Needed: $670.68 $565.68 ($189 from us)
Project description by Ms. Searles: Early childhood learning is built on learning experiences through hands-on activities in a structured environment with goals on creating and experimental development. The more a children experiment with classroom tools through play, the mental, social, verbal and physical development soar above any whole group direct teaching method.
My little people need these experiences in the classroom because the home environment usually can not provide the materials or assistance to reach and teach the skills.
Having magnetic tools strengthens eye and hand movements but supports the academic skills of language, math and STEM learning in a fun relaxing way.
If you learn in a fun way, you retain the experiences and want to challenge yourself to go above and beyond. These tools will assist my young learners to soar.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
This is just a little ad from the biggest maker of magnetic building tiles (whose product is NOT among those requested) — for any of us in a demographic that missed this kind of toy, here’s what they are and they do look pretty fun!
Our project #1 from last week was completed! many thanks to our amazing readers! As usual, we thank our readers for doing the bulk of the work to make this happen!
Project #1, Making Science Come Alive: Mrs. Nolan teaches kindergarten in Buffalo, New York. She hoped to bring her students some hermit crabs and a butterfly-hatching kit.
She writes: Thank you so much for making science come alive in our classroom! I am truly thrilled to have hermit crabs in our room; the kids are going to absolutely adore them. As the weather warms up, we’ll start our unit on living things, and I can’t think of a better way to wrap it all up than with butterflies. None of this would have been possible without your incredible support. Thank you for caring so deeply for my students; it means the world to me!
DonorsChoose has developed the designation Equity Focus Schools to describe some schools that submit projects. They meet ANY of these criteria:
❧ At least 50% of students are Black, Latino, Native American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or multiracial
❧ At least 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch
❧ Rural schools where more than one third (34+%) of the students are eligible for free and reduced priced lunch
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 1212! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
