Cathy Lagrimas, band director at Dole Middle School, was beginning to lose hope, with just a couple days left on her fundraising effort to buy five new trumpets for her students in Kalihi Valley.
Then a surprise email popped up in her inbox. Her wish had been granted in full Thursday, along with 182 other projects in Hawaii seeking funding through DonorsChoose.org.
“We were just completely shocked and very surprised and excited,” she said. “The kids wanted to know about the donor, who donated, what he does.”
Billionaire Marc Benioff, CEO of software firm Salesforce, picked up the tab on all Hawaii projects requested on DonorsChoose.org as of midnight Wednesday. His generosity was part of #BestSchoolDay, a surprise philanthropic effort by more than 50 celebrities, business leaders and athletes to fulfill classroom teachers’ wish lists.
DonorsChoose.org is a clearinghouse that helps link needy classrooms with donors. Teachers post requests and a description of how the gift will be used, and donors step up to pay for them, bit by bit, in a specified time period.
During the current school year, more than $936,200 has been raised to fund 1,022 projects across Hawaii, reaching 87,500 students, according to Donors Choose.
Lagrimas had put up her request for new trumpets early in the school year because her school has money just to repair old instruments, not to buy new ones.
“We had two donors in the beginning and we thought we were off to a good start, and after that it was nothing,” said Lagrimas, who was seeking $1,150. “We had a couple days left. We kind of gave up hope and thought nobody’s going to fund it.”
Then they got the happy news. Benioff had chosen to fund Hawaii wishes. He owns property on Hawaii island and spends a lot of time here.
“Hawaii is a very special place for me, and I carry the aloha spirit with me wherever I am,” he wrote in an email to the teachers. “The students of Hawaii deserve the very best education, which is why I’m funding all of the classroom projects in Hawaii — not only to raise up the students but to raise up the entire community. Education is critical to making the world a better place and training the workforce of tomorrow.”
On Hawaii island, biology and physics teacher Baird Swedman of rural Keeau High got his wish granted for “Vernier LabQuest 2” equipment, including probes and software, to help his students gather and analyze data.
“It is extremely difficult to conduct meaningful labs when materials must be scrounged from what is available,” he wrote in his funding request. “Many students do not have access to basic scholastic materials, pens, pencils, binder paper, let alone high-tech lab equipment.”
Swedman was delighted to hear that the project, worth $855, was fully funded.
“I love DonorsChoose,” he said. “I’ve been using it since 2012. My students are from low socioeconomic backgrounds and they struggle. I try to help in whatever ways that I can.”
The joy stretched across the state. Annette Ahuna, computer teacher and technology coordinator at Heeia Elementary School, opened up her email at the end of the workday, prompted by a call from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
“Awww, yay!” she said as she read the DonorsChoose message. “Oh, how nice!”
Her request for 30 headphones had been granted. It will let her young charges interact with their computers, playing math and grammar games, without having the sound spill over to their classmates. She said she looks forward to sending photos and a thank-you note to Benioff.
The 58 major donors who picked up the tab Thursday included actor Ashton Kutcher, who supported Iowa; Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, supporting Las Vegas; and tennis star Serena Williams, supporting Compton, Calif. Together they gave $14 million to handle nearly 12,000 classroom requests.
