weddings with impact

Perhaps you have been to a wedding that made a donation to a charity in lue of gifts.  I always loved that idea.  I got an email about a nifty organization that reaches out to public schools as the beneficiaries of such a donations....and being the daughter, and wife, of public school educators I thought this idea was outstanding and clearly had to share!

First, some background: Founded in 2000 by a public school teacher in the Bronx, DonorsChoose.org is an online charity connecting public school classrooms in need with donors who can help. To date, DonorsChoose.org has delivered over $85 million in materials to over 5 million students and was recently named one of Fast Company's “50 Most Innovative Companies in the World”.

Here’s how it works: teachers create classroom projects aimed at enhancing their students’ learning on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. Upon vetting by our staff, projects are listed on the site for individuals to browse and support, with a donation of any size. Once a project is fully funded, we ship the materials directly to the classroom, and donors receive pictures of the students using the materials and thank you notes from the classroom.

To get involved, couples simply create a DonorsChoose.org Giving Page, which can be customized with text, a photograph, and the classroom projects they would like to support. Each Giving Page has a unique URL, which can be shared with friends and family, much like a traditional wedding registry. To see the many couples who have already helped more than 15,000 students through their celebrations, visit their Wedding Leaderboard.