Schoolbags for Kids

Schoolbags for Kids was founded by Kalon Gutierrez and Luis Garcia, with the mission to equip children around the world with the supplies they need to empower themselves through education. They believe every child deserves to have the tools to learn and succeed. So for each schoolbag purchased from Schoolbags for Kids, the company donates a yellow schoolbag with supplies to a child in need.

So why the yellow bags? Well, yellow is the international symbol for caution that signals motorists to slow down and yield as they drive.  Most children benefiting from Schoolbags for Kids donations walk miles, on dangerous roads, to get to school.

Right now donations are being sent to the following organizations:

• Holy Cross School, Belize
• Homes of Home Orphanage, India
• Baan Rang Kratai School, Thailand

Schoolbags for Kids Partnership with:

• Ecojot for donations to Haiti
• Books and Beyond Project for donations to Rwanda

I asked founder Luis Garcia if there was any option for consumers to simply donate purchased schoolbags. Here's what he said:  

"Our $10 "One There" schoolbag was put on our site after a customer contacted us stating he didn't have children of his own but wanted to send a schoolbag to help a kid in need. Since then we have many customers add a "One There" schoolbag to their order or just order several "One There: schoolbags. Currently, for every five "One There" schoolbags purchased, we send you a mini "One There" schoolbag as a Thank you. This way [customers] can show their support for the mission."

Please visit Schoolbags for Kids for more information about this great company. 

If You Give a Kid a Book

BookEnds

In 1993, 8-year-old Brandon Keefe believed he could make a difference. By 1998, he was, forming BookEnds as nonprofit organization in Southern California that is about kids helping kids. The organization recycles children's books through student-run book drives and places them in schools and youth organizations in need of books. They believe that a literate child is the foundation of a thriving community. By providing access to books, children are given the resources to develop literacy skills and to experience the joy and imagination of reading.

Recipients of the BookEnds program include:

• Inner City Schools
• Youth Centers
• Homeless Shelters
• Family Literacy Centers
• After-school Enrichment Programs
• Children's Group Homes
• Juvenile Detention Facilities

For recipient organizations the ratio of books to kids is 3 to 1; the national average is 22 to 1.  Each dollar donated to BookEnds results in more than five dollars worth of books for kids.

BookEnds believes in the power of community service. Through Bookends students have the opportunity to change their lives and the lives of others through community service. Student volunteers collect, sort and personally deliver donated books to quality libraries and inspire a passion for reading.

The Stats to Date:

• 22,000 student volunteers
• 585 empty libraries filled in the Greater Los Angeles area
• 2.1 million books delivered
• Serving over 520,000 at-risk children

For more information please visit BookEnds.

Operation Kids

Operation Kids is a 501(3)c dedicated to improving the lives of children. Recognizing the many dimensions to a healthy, happy child, they support a researched community of charities providing solutions to issues affecting children's education, health, safety, and well being.

Their mission is to identify the most pressing issues facing the largest number of children, and then support a community of qualified charities and programs most effectively addressing those issues. Issues are determined under the direction of their Whole Child Committee, a select group of experts in children's issues. The Committee helps Operation Kids staff identify effective solutions to those issues. The staff then seeks to identify who demonstrates the most impact and efficiency when implementing those solutions. Operation Kids demands full accountability and transparency in use of its donations. Therefore an "OK" endorsement that a charity or one of its programs receives identifies it as a effort deserving of complete donor confidence.

Their corporate giving consultant service helps companies identify and partner with charities that demonstrate the highest standards of effectiveness and impact, and whose partnership contributes to the company's brand-building efforts. Operation Kids also has competencies in media relations, special events management and Online charitable marketing and fundraising.

Founded in 1999 and incorporated in 2000, the organization is dedicated to sound principles of charitable giving. They:

1. Measurably improve the lives of children

• Improving Safety through The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's "Net Smartz" program
• Improving Health through the life-changing and life-saving medical procedures of Operation Smile and the Children's Organ Transplant Association
• Improving Well-Being through Right to Play's effective programs teaching conflict resolution through sport, in more than 23 countries
• Improving Education in New Orleans through the Edible Schoolyard Project, funding for summer science internships at New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School and programs for intellectually disabled children provided by Best Buddies

2. Provide donors with a more accountable and fulfilling experience

• Individual donors- your donation, combines with others, support programs and charities where they make a measurable impact. You can know your gift made a real difference
• Corporations/Businesses- By understanding the strategy behind corporate philanthropy, they can carefully design and manage corporate giving for maximum impact, thereby better serving your employees, customers, and communities
• Foundations- They vet charities and programs and help guide the foundation's giving based on its mission and focus, to ensure maximum impact
• Charities- They share best practices and efficient management principles to increase efficiency, accountability, and effectiveness

3. Research the most pressing issues facing the largest number of children

• While any issue affecting children is important, some affect greater numbers in more significant ways. Understanding issues in context is valuable to those looking to make the greatest impact with their charitable contributions.

4. Identify charities and programs most effectively addressing key issues

• Charities exhibit a wide range of effectiveness and efficiency. Many are well-managed. Some though well intended are not. Donors deserve to understand the effectiveness of a nonprofit organization before giving.

The organization's administrative expenses are fully met through monthly payments from an investment fund, so all contributions to Operation Kids:

• Reach the child in need
• are focused on your area of interest
• are leveraged through matching funds campaigns
• are managed every step of the way

For more information please visit Operation Kids website.

The New Teacher Project

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap between poor and minority students and white students, by ensuring that high need students get outstanding teachers. The organization was founded in 1997 to address the growing issues of teacher shortages and teacher quality throughout the country. TNTP partners with school districts and states to implement scalable responses to the most acute teacher quality challenges.

Their Approach:

"TNTP believes that the fundamental structures, policies and institutions that influence teacher quality (from certification providers to district Human Resources offices to collective bargaining agreements) must be re-aligned to maximize teacher quality in high-need schools. TNPT provides school districts and states with a range of services, all of which are designed to increase the concentration of highly effective teachers in high-needs schools. They:

• Create innovative programs that bring high-quality teachers into hard-to-staff schools
• Identify the policy barriers that keep schools from hiring the best teachers possible, and advocate for necessary reforms.
• Work hand-in-hand with school districts and school leaders to staff the lowest-performing schools with excellent teachers
• Develop new and better ways to prepare, develop, and certify teachers for public schools

TNTP services include:

• Teacher recruitment
• School staffing
• Training and certification
• Research and advocacy

The organization's mission: The New Teacher Project partners with educational entities to:

• Increase the number of outstanding individuals who become public school teachers
• Create environments for all educators that maximize their impact on student achievement

Their vision: Once day, our nation's public schools will be thriving organizations that offer all children an excellent education.

TNTP Core Values:

• Foundation- Their work is driven by what they believe to be best for students and their goal of closing the achievement gap. As a disciplined, revenue-generating nonprofit organization, they remain accountable, focused and motivated to meet their goals.
• People- Their people drive their success as a company. They strive to recruit and retain a diverse group of dedicated individuals representing the best talent available. TNPT work to ensure these individuals feel valued and supported, and that they have opportunities to develop and grow.
• Work- TNTP do what it takes to achieve results. They are purposeful in providing high-quality, responsive and innovative services. They endeavor to work in close collaboration with their clients to develop models that challenge the status quo and raise expectations for what is possible in the effort to increase student achievement, and they strive to inform and influence the national dialogue on education policy.
• Culture- They believe in a healthy, productive work environment. They strive for a trusting, supportive culture that emphasizes collaborations and flexibility amongst all staff members. They push themselves to higher levels of performance, they celebrate their successes, and learn from their failures.

Since its founding, TNTP has trained or hired approximately 33,000 teachers, benefited an estimated 4.8 million students, and established more than 70 programs and initiatives in 28 states. For more information please visit The New Teacher Project website.

Dave Eggers

Today's nonprofit tidbit focuses on philanthropist, advocate, and author, Dave Eggers. 

Eggers is a pretty busy guy, he's a novelist, launched an independent publishing house, which publishes books, a quarterly journal (McSweeney's), and a monthly magazine (The Believer), and spends his free time founding non-profits. 

826 Valencia  is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari. Their mission is to help students ages 6 to 18 develop their writing skills and help teachers get their students excited about writing and the literary arts. This is achieved through one-on-one tutoring, field trips, in-school programs and workshops- for free. Since it's founding, 826 has expanded to seven locations known collectively as 826 National.

Once Upon a School developed from Dave Eggers TED Prize wish, this website collects the stories of private citizens who are engaged in their communities by helping their local public schools. Not only can site visitors submit stories, but it also helps match donors with school projects. "The site helps you find a creative way of supporting local public school."

Voice of Witness  is a nonprofit oral history book series, which "seeks to illuminate human rights crises by humanizing the victims.  By allowing them to tell their stories, we seek to engender greater understanding." It's aim is "engaging readers of all levels- from high school to college students to policy makers."

I urge you to visit Dave Eggers' page at Ted  and learn more about his work. It's a great opportunity to hear more about Dave Eggers' work in his own words. More importantly, I urge to check out these organizations.