The Mothers in Medicine Challenge: Giving back to public schools

Getting into medical school is competitive. We're hoping that competitive streak in you will help us in our goal to raise money for a great cause: our public schools. Many public schools, particularly those in poorer school districts, can't afford the materials they need.

Have you heard of DonorsChoose.org? It was started by a former teacher as an experiment and now is an alternative funding source for teachers nationwide. Teachers upload projects they want sponsored such as Biology Lab basic equipment for a Mississippi high school where students have never had an exposure to a real laboratory ($818). Donors can contribute as little as $5. DonorsChoose purchases the supplies and ships it to the classrooms, along with a disposible camera. Donors receive thank you notes from the children, as well as photos.

According to Fortune magazine, "Donorschoose.org has raised $24 million to get support to 1.4 million students in 50 states. Nearly 60,000 projects have been funded."

Now, to the competition.

Starting October 1st, bloggers around the country will be competing to see who can generate the most donations to DonorsChoose classroom projects. Last year, blog readers donated $420,000 toward books, art supplies, technology, and other resources, reaching 75,000 students in low-income communities.

Mothers in Medicine in joining in and we're hoping that we can show the internet who wears the pants. Please visit our giving page and see what projects we've selected to raise funds for. You can also get to our giving page via that nifty widget in our sidebar. After donating, you can leave a message for the students you are helping. Since the giving account is under Mothers in Medicine, leave your name, if you wish, in your message and where you are from.

Give if you can!