Bridging the Digital Divide: Students Making A Difference

When two sisters realized the difference that the Internet made in their own grandparent's lives, they knew they were on to something.

It was time to make this a community service project and get students involved.  The response was overwhelming and the seniors were excited to learn about a whole-new-world - The Internet!

They have become Cyber-Mentors to the Cyber-Seniors in their community.

These Cyber-Mentors has contests  and taught seniors how to take selfies! Students brought so much joy to these senior citizens!  One video shows a 90 year-old woman that found her home in England on Google Earth – and was brought to tears – yet another elderly woman makes the students giggle as she sings Hallelujah to YouTube for the first time.

Encourage your school to reach into your community retirement centers and open up new worlds to these wonderful seniors!  Paying it forward is a wonderful feeling!

Learn more.

One Laptop per Child - #OLPC

5000 Laptops to 5000 children.

OLPC mission is to empower the world’s poorest children through education.

We aim to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop. To this end, we have designed hardware, content and software for collaborative, joyful, and self-empowered learning. With access to this type of tool, children are engaged in their own education, and learn, share, and create together. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future. – OLPC


Parenting Expert and author of over 25 parenting books, Dr. Michele Borba is one of their United States Ambassadors. On her recent trip to Miami she visited schools in Liberty City where she witnessed these laptops interact with students that were in other countries.

Dr. Borba says;
“It was simply amazing! Each click of the mouse was helping them become more connected both to the world and to a brighter future.”

On February 28th, Michele Borba and a team from #OLPC delivered 5000 laptops to children in Nicaragua. (Watch video).

Michele Borba with the kids!

 

For more information on One Laptop per Child and inspiring stories, visit http://one.laptop.org/.

Maybe you would like to donate, volunteer or find out how you can become involved.  Click here.

Here are the stories from literally around the world – changing the world, one child at a time through one laptop at a time. Click here…. just like they are doing.

Watch a slideshow and video of this amazing trip here.

XO Laptop

Communities in Schools: Empowering Students to Stay in School and Achieve in Life

Communities In Schools works within the public school system, determining student needs and establishing relationships with local businesses, social service agencies, health care providers, and parent and volunteer organizations to provide needed resources.

Many children face challenges both inside and outside the classroom. Through a school-based coordinator, Communities In Schools strategically aligns and delivers needed resources so that students can focus on learning.

The Communities In Schools network is active in 25 states and the District of Columbia. Our nearly 200 local affiliates serve the lowest performing schools and the students most vulnerable to dropping out. Check our list to see if there is an affiliate near you.

Find your affiliate:  Click here.

DoSomething.org - Powering Offine Action

Who We Are?

We love teens. They are creative, active, wired…and frustrated that our world is so messed up. DoSomething.org harnesses that awesome energy and unleashes it on causes teens care about.. Almost every week, we launch a new national campaign.

The call to action is always something that has a real impact and doesn’t require money, an adult, or a car. With a goal of 5 million active members by 2015, DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the U.S. for teens and social change.

Find out what's on our minds and what's going on behind the scenes by checking out our DoSomething.org blog. or taking a peek at our Culture Book.
 
Have you heard? Do Something is now a member-based organization:

By being a member of DoSomething.org:

1. You make a real impact on causes you care about.
   • We help you be part a social movement with others like you.
   • We give you ideas because it can be hard to think of something specific to actually do.
   • We send you stuff like posters, stickers, banners, etc.
   • We recognize you for the good stuff you do (so that you can put it on your college app, impress a girl, or give it to your mom to hang on the fridge).
2. You get cash. That's right. We're talking $$.
   • We give money for social change projects.
   • We award money for school.
3. You get SWAG you can actually use.
   • Movie tickets, food, etc. (Send us your wish list!)
   • Celeb-signed goodies
4. You have access to invite-only things.
   • We invite you to exclusive events (like the Do Something Awards, movie premieres, etc).
   • We give you the chance to meet a celebrity.

Learn more by visiting DoSomething.org.

One Family One Community

ONE FAMILY ONE COMMUNITY IS A SHOWCASE OF THE POSITIVE PROGRAMS AND GOOD WORKS OF INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATED MEMBERS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.  WE WORK COLLECTIVELY AS A WHOLE TO AID EACH OTHER  IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL, ECONOMICAL, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL PROJECTS. HERE, OUR STAFF ARE CONSTANTLY STUDYING, LEARNING, AND APPLY THOSE SKILLS WHICH WOULD ACCELERATE OUR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AS A POSITIVE FORCE WITHIN OUR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITY. PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LEGAL RESEARCH TEAM AND KNOW THAT ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN IN RESEARCHING NEW LAWS AND LEGISLATION WHICH WOULD ASSIST US IN OUR CAUSE AND THE CAUSE OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. 

WE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING NEW UPDATES ON PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS. WE WILL BE GIVING RECOGNITION TO THOSE ASSOCIATED MEMBERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE. SO VISIT THIS WEBSITE OFTEN, TO STAY IN TUNE TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY NEAR YOU.

Learn more.

Miriam's Kitchen - Give to the Max Day

•  Starting at midnight on Wednesday, November 9, local residents will donate online to help raise millions of dollars for local nonprofits as part of the first annual Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington.

•  Give to the Max Day is a massive one-day regional online fundraiser that will unite local Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC communities to support nonprofits serving the area.

•  As part of Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington, nonprofits large and small can earn their share of $125,000 in cash awards, including up to $25,000 for nonprofits with the most individual donors and the most money donated.

• Homelessness in Washington, DC, the Nation's Capitol: there are more than 6,500 homeless men, women and children in Washington, DC on any given night. Of those, nearly 2,000 are chronically homeless--meaning they have been homeless for a year or more, or four or more times in the past three years.

•  Miriam's Kitchen provides free, homemade meals and high-quality support services to more than 4,000 homeless men and women each year in the Nation's Capitol, Washington, DC. Their core programs are meals, case management, Miriam's Studio, and Miriam's Cafe.   

• Homelessness at Miriam's Kitchen: on any given day at Miriam's Kitchen, 82 percent of their guests are chronically homeless.  In fact, the average length of homelessness of the guests is 5.5 years

• Nearly 80 percent of Miriam's Kitchen's guests live on the streets of DC, in parks around the city, under the bridges along the Potomac River, and in emergency shelters.  

• Miriam's Kitchen's guest demographics: 95 percent of Miriam's Kitchen's guests are male, 60 percent are African American and the median age of our guests is 50.

• Mental illness and addiction at Miriam's Kitchen: Many of Miriam's Kitchen's guests suffer from severe mental illnesses and addictions, making them the most fragile and hardest to connect with social services.

Learn more at http://www.miriamskitchennews.org/.

Class Wish Web Thrift Store

Making a difference.

You know how deep the school budget cuts have been!  Now, your child doesn’t have to sit in a classroom that doesn’t have enough supplies and equipment.  Now, teachers don’t have to spend their own money just to provide the basics.

An exciting nonprofit has a new solution. 

Here’s an easy new way that all of us can turn unused household items into resources for the classroom of our choice:  http://ClassWish-WebThriftStore.org.     

You list items on the site.  Visitors buy.  And a full 80% of the purchase price will go to help fulfill a Wish List for the K-12 teacher or PTA/PTO you choose, so your child and others can perform at their best.  It gets even better: you will receive a tax-deduction for the value of the item (generally, the full purchase price).  

Imagine what a well-equipped classroom your child could have if all the parents participate!

To get the greatest exposure for your items, list them today so the first buyers see them when we start selling on October 21. 

The web thrift store is brought to you http://ClassWish.org, the nonprofit about which Sarah Brown Wessling, 2010 National Teacher of the Year, wrote, “This nonprofit is a swift and inventive way for communities to unite in support of the tools that make learning more accessible for all students.”

Please list your items today.  Tell your child’s teacher and the school’s PTA.  And be sure to tell other parents about this great new opportunity. 

 

Learn more at www.ClassWish.org.