Danny Thomas once said, "Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself, it's what you do for others!" Teacher leadership is about service! Last week I went to New York City to support my friend Jed Dearybury as he represented South Carolina in the New York marathon! Jed is one of our teacher leaders on the CERRA Advisory Board. He teaches second grade at Woodland Heights Elementary School in Spartanburg. He's inspired all of us through his journey to wellness and qualifying for the New York marathon is no simple feat! It was exciting to be a part of the adventure!
Jed is also a huge advocate for Donors Choose, an organization that makes a difference in the lives of students and teachers across America by giving individuals opportunities to donate to projects for classrooms. Jed's students have reaped many benefits from the organization over the years and in the process Jed has paid it forward by encouraging others across the state to submit projects.
Before checking in for the marathon, Jed arranged for our group to visit the headquarters of Donors Choose. It was really cool to see where all the magic happens and tour the facilities. While touring the office, we had the opportunity to meet the founder of the nonprofit, Charles Best. He served as a high school history teacher in the Bronx. His innovative idea to make it easy for everyday citizens to help public schools has been revolutionary. Check out the impact it has made in South Carolina!
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| The educator behind Donors Choose: Charles Best |
We enjoyed our visit to Donors Choose and the opportunity to meet the staff. After we checked in to the race venue along with thousands of other would be runners, we headed back to our hotel. While waiting on our rooms, we received word that the marathon was canceled. Little did we know, "Plan B" would make all the difference. The race was canceled, but not the giving spirit of the runner! Plan B turned out to be more extraordinary than anyone ever imagined. Jed organized his own marathon, Dash for Donors, this weekend in Spartanburg to raise funds for schools affected by Hurricane Sandy. It's not too late to contribute!
Consider making a donation by visiting the Dash for Donors page! To date, nearly $6,000 dollars has been raised for students whose classrooms were affected by the hurricane. If you decide to make a donation, you can use the following gift codes for your contribution to be matched: "horacemann12" or "science."
The essence of teacher leadership is service. As we enter the Thanksgiving season, there are needs all around us and many reasons to be thankful. John Quincy Adams once said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." I'm thankful for teachers leaders like Jed who inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more!
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| The Finish Line at Dash for Donors! |
I keep forgetting to check out your blog!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic experience and yay, you, for being there to support Jed in his dream!
I love the Donor's Choose idea. There are so many things teachers can do, if they only have a little bit of support. Isn't it absolutely amazingly cool how wonderful the Internet and connectivity is to our teachers and students?!!