Most Important Thing I've Ever Written

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UPDATE: You guys cleared out this entire charity's needs in less than four hours. I was going to match and donate after dinner, but the donations are now closed for this particular charity. Here's what we're going to do: At the time I made the offer to match donations, they needed $190. If we were going to fill that together, you needed to donate $95, and I would match $95. Since I didn't get my opportunity to donate, BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE WAY TOO AMAZING, I'll be matching donations until I hit the $95 dollar limit for ANY classroom project you choose on the donorschoose website. I'll be posting updates on here, Facebook and Twitter (username: thoughtmecca) as to each classroom I donate to, and a countdown of what's left to donate.

Here's the list of classrooms you can choose from: You can search by amount needed to complete, region, subject, or grade level. Once you make your donation, forward me your receipt at: donations@matthartwell.com.

If you were to choose something media-based, as my original donation was, I'd be thrilled, and you can read my reasons for that below, but I will match any donation in any subject until I hit that $95 mark. If you guys keep donating after that, keep forwarding me your email addresses and the reason you chose the classroom you did, and I will post it here, to spread awareness of the project's you've chosen.

Donate $5 instead of eating out tonight! - Dave Metzger: Donation to Students "FLIP" For Writing!
This way you can't spend that money on beer. - Carly Bales: Donation to Student-Made Televison!
Joanne Hartwell: Projected Success!

Amount remaining for me to donate: $38

Taking a cue from John Rogers: If you like what you read here and on Elephant Words, donate to support a cause I believe in, and if you loathe it and everything I stand for, donations are a great way to bankrupt this kid out of $95.

ORIGINAL POST AS FOLLOWS:

Hey everybody,

I'm a recent college graduate just starting to work in Hollywood, and it's pretty awesome. I wouldn't be here, however, if I hadn't had an early exposure to film and television production. Most of this I received at the hands of truly dedicated teachers, as well as a slew of opportunities from my parents. The children at William Perry Elementary don't have these same opportunities. They attend school in a High Poverty area, and almost all of the students are dependent on the free lunch program just to ensure they receive adequate nutrition. While some people may scoff at the idea of donating video cameras as charity, I implore you not to pass up this chance to help shape a child's future. They will never be able to afford SR1 cameras or Final Cut Pro editing software, much less the computers to run it on, but a pair of FLIP camcorders, in addition to being perfectly rugged for their age group, allows anybody to learn the art of filmmaking. If even ONE child has a spark of creativity ignited because of the projects they use these cameras for, then it will be worth it. Because I believe so much in this, I am going to ask you to forward your receipt to me, and I will match any donations you make, dollar for dollar until their goal is met.

Click this link to donate and for further information!

Thank you for your time,
Matthew Hartwell
donations@matthartwell.com