I never realized how fortunate I was to attend a public school in which supplies were never an issue of concern. My teachers always had plenty of paper, pencils, crayons, and erasers to spare and I just assumed such an abundance of vital school supplies was customary in all classrooms.Then I saw a segment on 20/20 last night about the number of students across the country in dire need of the most basic of supplies… items I definitely took for granted as a kid.That’s why DonorsChoose.org was created. This amazing website program developed by Bronx public high school teacher Charles Best in 2000 when he saw first-hand the scarcity of materials in public school classrooms and how it negatively affected kids education. DonorsChoose.org allows teachers to post requests for specific school materials and then donors can contribute to meet those requests. To date the program has raised $17,428,874 to assist 899,212 students, from donors in 50 states!The 20/20 segment highlighted the amazing “pay-it-forward” affect that DonorChoose.org has had on students. Many kids whom have been the recipients of donated items, later held fundraisers so they too could donate items to another needy school.If you’d like to contribute to this wonderful cause visit DonorsChoose.org, you can contribute a small amount toward an item request or enough to complete an entire request. Every little bit counts!