On September 11, 2015, the Entertainment Industry Foundation launched Think It Up in a star-studded television special that aired on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX.
Think It Up is an initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation created to bring broad cultural attention to the urgency of improving the learning experience in America. The national education initiative will seek to reframe the public discussion about education, create a culture of excitement about learning everywhere in America, and build a sense of optimism about the potential of education in classrooms across the country.
Think It Up will invite students age 13+ in grades 7-12 at a public or charter school to work with their teachers to develop projects that draw on their passions and help pursue their educational goals. Posted on thinkitup.org, in collaboration with DonorsChoose.org, the student-powered, teacher-led projects will be crowdfunded by citizen donors beginning in September 2015. The projects will encourage rigorous skill development that prepares American youth for post-high school life, helping pave the way for college and/or career success.
Think It Up is funded in part by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Staples, Exxon Mobil, Ashoka and, of course, the general public.
Donors Choose is an organization that has been working for years to make it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Teachers in over 60 percent of all the public schools in America have created project requests through DonorsChoose.org, and more than a million people have donated $330 million to projects that inspire them.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced recently that it will match $1 million in donations to DonorsChoose.org. Donors need to enter the match code JUMPSTART to have their donation matched.
Common DonorsChoose requests include the following:
For more information, please visit: www.thinkitup.org and http://www.donorschoose.org/
