OASD fundraising efforts kick in boosters on classroom innovations

Launched on November 1, the Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) Education Foundation started a nonprofit campaign to support teachers and classroom projects. Partnering up with DonorsChoose, an organization helping individuals support public school projects led by teachers, the OASD looks forward to bringing innovation to classrooms. Through DonorsChoose, teachers can set up projects for necessary supplies, making funding available for any teacher in the district.

Within classrooms, the need for supplies is necessary and important to education. Many teachers have reported spending their own money just to increase learning.

“Last year, 96% of OASD teachers surveyed reported paying anywhere from $50 to $1,000 out of their own pocket for classrooms every year,” Theresa Duren, director of the OASD Education Foundation, said. “This number mirrors the national average of 95%. DonorsChoose allows individuals to donate directly to classroom projects in order to bring this statistic down.” 

The resources teachers have access to are essential for their curriculum. Yet even with items being provided for the district, teachers still need more to boost the engagement in their classrooms.

“Our district’s incredible teachers know their students’ unique needs better than anyone,” she said. “While our district is committed to providing the materials needed to teach in the classrooms, DonorsChoose is a great way to bring those extra things for students to make learning fun and engaging.”

Although some teachers have the money to spend extra funds on students, there are many who cannot.

“I think teachers, all the time, are picking up for this activity or that activity and buying snacks for the class, and so I think [spending money out of their pockets] happens a lot,” Principal Erin Kohl said. “Everyone's a little different financially to be able to do that. Our teachers care a lot about the kids and they will do whatever they have to to take care of their kids and do the things they want to do in their classrooms.”

The need for support from the community was important, and an easy way to do so was through the organization, DonorsChoose. 

“In our district, Theresa heads up the education foundation for the school district and she was trying to think of creative ways to get donors to support different ideas that teachers have,” Kohl said. “Some of our teachers have used the website and gotten a lot of success in getting projects funded. She saw that and realized that if it has been successful for teachers, why not get a whole campaign out there for the district to make it a unified effort and put it out in the community.”

The OASD and DonorsChoose began the “Boost the Classroom” campaign on the organization’s website. 

“The purpose of ‘Boost the Classroom’ is to connect teachers into a network of donors to support classroom projects,” Duren said. “The organization’s mission is to connect donors to public school classrooms via their crowdfunding platform.”

Through donating to the campaign, a person can help not only the teachers, but also the students in the classrooms during learning.

“By giving to the ‘Boost the Classroom’ campaign, an individual has the opportunity to play a role in shaping children’s lives,” she said. “Classrooms are a place where children can increase their knowledge, engage their curiosity, and expand their horizons.”

The goal of this campaign is to help both the district and classrooms throughout the school year, benefiting education.

“The long-term goal is to really acquire funding and donations to support different projects in the classroom,” Kohl said. “It also is making donors aware of the needs out there and hopefully, some of these donors who fund projects will consider making future donations to other projects, even making a donation to the district’s education fund in general to support some of the larger projects that are going on.”

The campaign will last until February 2022, but teachers will still be available to have projects shared on the website. But as for this campaign, all donations will be matched to help these teachers.

“Teachers will continue to have the option to post projects on our DonorsChoose District partnership platform in the future,” Duren said. “However right now, donations are being matched by the JEK Foundation, Amcor, and OASD Education Foundation, so donor dollars go further.”

The campaign can be found online on the DonorsChoose website, where donations are made safely and securely. 

“If you do donate to a project, it is very much appreciated not only by the teachers and the school district but also by the students who get to benefit from the project,” Kohl said. 

Any amount donated will impact the classroom for good, all for the purpose of helping education.

“A great thing about these projects is they are not that costly and so even if the goal is a lot of money, you don’t have to fund the entire project,” Kohl said. “If you could only afford $25 or $50, you can put it in and we hope other people will support it. As soon as the money is raised, the teachers will get it. It’s a way to fund projects really quickly.”

The money donated to this campaign will go towards a good cause. Teachers in the district are looking forward to the support of families in the community to make this year better. 

“Please support our teachers, students, and classrooms by donating to the campaign,” Duren said. “We’re grateful for this partnership and for the caring donors helping our school communities become stronger as we continue to build community through education.”

By Ruby Pluchinsky

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue 3

November 29 2021