In this era of information overload, we get very good at tuning out and in with snap, subconscious judgements. Sometimes that means valuable things get missed, which is what happened with Fred Wilson’s first post about his Donor’s Choose fundraiser. When he re-posted about the topic, it registered on my brain, especially when I saw his comment “This is one of the ways I get ‘paid’ for showing up here every day and sharing my thoughts and experiences.”
I think Fred’s blog is good for the industry, and supporting him and this effort seemed like the least I could do.
When I clicked over to the Donor’s Choose page (which I hope you do too), I saw a bunch of valuable efforts for inner city NYC schools, but one leaped out at me. I was lucky enough to go to a very good high school when I was young (St. Albans in DC), and was even more lucky to have a young teacher named Donna Denize teach a class on the Harlem Renaissance. It was one of my favorite classes from those years, and exposed me to a fascinating period of American arts. I even quoted Zora Neale Hurston’s (pictured above) book Their Eyes Were Watching God on my yearbook page. When I saw that “Ms. P” wanted help buying books to teach this period to her class, it was a no brainer.
This was an unexpected detour on a busy morning, but a delightful one, and I hope you too consider clicking over and seeing what project inspires you to help young students in need.