For the Birds!: Increasing Diversity Among America's Bird Watchers

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I am focusing on this project, For the Birds!, because it targets fifth grade kids, the perfect age to get them interested in birds for life. Further, this is a high-poverty classroom in NYC (my home), and I wish to help the kids here develop an appreciation for the glorious bird life that migrates through here and resides in this large city. But this is an expensive project because they are asking for 15 binoculars for a classroom of 30 kids, so I donated $300 to this project to get it started. Will you donate money to help me help this classroom?

In recognition of your kind gifts to help others, Princeton University Press is offering 2 books with a value of up to $30.00 each as prizes to two of my DonorsChoose Challenge donors: one book will be awarded to the donor who gives the largest gift, and the other book will be given to a donor who will be randomly chosen by my parrots. This kind offer covers most of Princeton University Press's trade science titles and guide books (view their catalogue PDFs here) and they also pay postage, so this costs you NOTHING! All that you have to do is send me your mailing address after making your donation and you will be automatically entered into this competition.

In addition to being entered into a drawing for a free PUP book of your choice, for every $20 that you donate to my DonorsChoose Challenge, I will give you one chance to win a Scanning Electron Micrograph, courtesy of the ASPEX Corporation, which is part of a promotional effort for their newest gadget: a benchtop SEM. For example, a $20 donation "buys" you one chance to win while $100 "buys" you five chances to win.

How will these winners be determined? My parrots will "chews" the winners either by directly picking the ballot out of a hat, or if they are being obstinate, I'll let them poop on a large piece of paper with a grid drawn on it, with one square representing one "ballot." (Of course, I am open to your suggestions for other ways that my parrots can "chews" the winner if you have a better idea).

More like this

Before heading off to the Charleston Conference last week, I blogged about the big announcement of Pierre Lassonde's big $25 million donation to York to found the Lassonde School of Engineering.
With hundreds of seemingly worthy charities out there, how do we decide which ones to donate to? Even if we eliminate charities that aren't effective, there are still too many choices, and too little money, to donate to all of them.
This year's DonorsChoose challenge is doing pretty well, with the total standing at a bit over $2,200. Thanks to all who have donated thus far.
As you have no doubt noticed, the annual DonorsChoose fundraiser is under way, raising money to help school teachers and children.

Only $190 to go. Come on folks, my wife has given up the G&T allowance I gave her, just to help the children. So you can too!

Poor Elekra, won't be able to have a gin and tonic until she gets to Europe.