POCOMOKE – Local educators felt the impact of the $29 million gift to a crowdfunding website that made national headlines last week as several projects at Pocomoke Middle School received funding.
On March 28, Ripple, a digital currency company, donated $29 million to DonorsChoose.org, an online donation platform that helps fund classroom needs throughout the country. The substantial gift funded more than 35,000 classroom projects in need of financial support, including several at Pocomoke Middle School.
“Pocomoke Middle School was lucky enough to benefit from this amazing funding opportunity,” said Karen McCabe, a seventh-grade science teacher at the school. “This funding is making a real difference for our students and teachers.”
According to Ripple, the $29 million donation made through the #BestSchoolDay campaign funded every request on the nonprofit’s website.
“As a company, we’re focused on removing the friction from cross-border payments to promote more inclusion and accessibility within the global economy,” reads a statement on Ripple’s website. “DonorsChoose.org applies the same principles of inclusion and accessibility to education. We’re proud to be working with DonorsChoose.org to nurture the next generation of leaders at public schools across America.”
McCabe said teachers at Pocomoke Middle have been using DonorsChoose.org for some time to help raise money for various projects at the school. She said she initially found success with the online platform during the last economic downturn.
“Sharing my experiences and having other teachers launch successful projects has been contagious,” she said. “Teachers create projects for things they need. That is one of the great things about it.”
Ripple’s donation funded several Pocomoke Middle projects that were active on DonorsChoose.org last week. They included the purchase of headphones for sixth graders, funding for a trip to the YMCA for swimming lessons and the purchase of books for a summer book club.
In addition, McCabe had three projects on the site and will now be able to move forward with all of them. She’ll be able to take seventh graders canoeing on the Pocomoke River, install a “no-mow” meadow around the school and further Pocomoke Middle’s plans to become a “green school.”
In all, the school received $6,800 in funding in just one day. Combined with projects already funded through the website, the school has now received $11,000 in supplemental funding thanks to DonorsChoose.org.
“DonorsChoose.org has allowed our students to have access to learning experiences they might not have ever had,” McCabe said.
