Innovation for Good: Donorschoose and CIS

Inside an inner-city Chicago classroom, talk of going to space seems light-years away. Yet students at Dawes Elementary School are going to Mars. This voyage is made possible thanks to donated pairs of virtual reality headsets—an educational resource that wasn’t available to Amani Abuhabsah-Ghusein at the start of her career.

“I had no supplies nor resources,” Abuhabsah-Ghusein recalls about her early days as a science teacher 21 years ago. “I wanted to make science meaningful and be hands-on because that's how people learn and grow, but my admin at that time explained there was no money. I was heartbroken.”

Her sorrow soon subsided when she learned of DonorsChoose, a nonprofit crowdfunding website that facilitates classroom supply donations. On the platform, public school teachers can create campaigns to request supplies from the community. Since 2000, the organization has processed $1.8 billion in donations from almost 7 million people. Some of the proceeds have provided Abuhabsah-Ghusein’s students with LEGO sets, STEM Kits, and model airplanes.

Supporting teachers and students in need

Teachers have long reported paying out of pocket for supplies as basic as glue sticks and tissue boxes. A DonorsChoose survey of teachers on its platform found that half of respondents reported working a second job. And this financial burden is only exacerbated in areas that mostly serve students of color. A 2022 report revealed that these districts receive about $2,700 less in funding per student than the national average.

Teachers using DonorsChoose estimate that they’d have to spend about $1,400 of their own money on classroom supplies each year if not for the nonprofit. With the program’s support, that number drops to $655.

“We want to get our nation closer to a place where students in every community have the resources they need for an enriching education, regardless of their zip code,” says DonorsChoose spokesperson Juan Brizuela.

The support DonorsChoose facilitates not only impacts students but teachers as well.

“I don't know if I would stay in my teaching role if it wasn't for DonorsChoose,” says Abuhabsah-Ghusein. “I now have the tools, and it makes my heart happy; it makes the kids happy.”

Communities in Schools

When 18-year-old Yarely Baltazar got the news she’d been anticipating for months, confetti exploded across her computer screen. As the blast settled, her eyes landed on the word she’d longed to read: “Congratulations!” Her euphoria meant she’d be attending the University of Southern California come August. Eager to share the news, she darted across the kitchen in search of her Mexican-born parents to celebrate her feat as the first university attendee in the family.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Baltazar said. “When I applied early, I saw that the acceptance rate was less than 10 percent.”

Baltazar credits part of her success to the support of Communities In Schools (CIS), an organization that helps keep students in school by battling chronic absenteeism. Throughout high school, Baltazar received supplies, mentorship, and food from the nonprofit, which has supported 2 million students from kindergarten to grade 12 across 29 states.

Fostering attendance through connection

According to CIS, there are 15 million U.S. students who experience chronic absenteeism. In an effort to combat these rates, the nonprofit deploys trained adults—referred to as site coordinators—who partner with parents, administrations, and other community-based organizations to help students overcome obstacles affecting their attendance. These barriers include mental and physical health challenges, food insecurity, and obligations like work or childcare. Site coordinators also provide mentorship to students, launch attendance initiatives, and create college preparation and life-skill programs.

Heather Clawson, Chief Program and Innovation Officer at CIS, knows that these initiatives make a difference—97 percent of students working with the organization advance to the next grade. But for her, it’s the connection between site coordinator and student that has the biggest impact.

“It's not programs that change students' lives, it's relationships,” she says. “If there's something that all students need, it's caring and supportive adults.”

Clawson envisions a future where all students have access to integrated support, just like Baltazar experienced.

“It’s not just about the immediate impact on attendance, student behavior, and academics,” she says. “It’s about really transforming the lives of students and, ultimately, communities long-term.”

As Baltazar advances in her academic journey, she won’t forget the support CIS provided.

“I looked forward to going to school,” says Baltazar. “The site coordinators gave me the best advice, and I felt that I could trust them with all of my problems. Having CIS as a kind of family really benefited me.”

This article was originally published in the September 2025 issue of alive magazine.