Editor's Note: Many months ago, I spoke at a social media conference, and one of the gifts for participating speakers was a "gift" card to the excellent service, DonorsChoose.org, which allows donors to gift needy classrooms in America. As a Boston-raised hockey player, I specifically wanted to donate a gift to a hockey-related cause in Massachusetts. I located one in Cambridge, and with the help of my colleague Robert Wooley (the NHL's manager of cause marketing, who spotted my Facebook post about it and then did all of the heavy lifting!), it blossomed into the story below, which was generously written by Oliver Hurst-Hiller, the CTO and EVP of Product for DonorsChoose.org. Enjoy! And then donate!
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Back in February, you may have heard about former Boston Bruin Willie O’Ree’s visit to the Community Charter School of Cambridge (CCSC). He spoke to students about the importance of education and delivered thousands of dollars in hockey equipment donated by the NHL! To see Willie’s visit to CCSC, check out this awesome video.
What you may not have heard is that Willie and the NHL found out about CCSC’s hockey equipment needs through DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need.
It all started when Michael DiLorenzo, Director of Social Media Marketing for the NHL, discovered CCSC’s request for nearly $5,000 in hockey equipment posted on DonorsChoose.org. Michael made a personal donation and also shared the project on Facebook.
Rob Wooley, a friend of Michael’s and the NHL’s Cause Marketing Manager, noticed Michael’s Facebook post and saw an opportunity for the NHL to directly support the students at this public, tuition-free, college preparatory charter school. Rob then coordinated the generous donation of hockey equipment by the NHL and had Willie O’Ree deliver it directly to the students.
Said Michael Magner, the CCSC teacher who requested the equipment:
“Most of my students are underprivileged youth, many African American, who attend an innovative and highly progressive charter school bent on closing the achievement gap. Like many minorities, my inner-city students have never had the opportunity to be exposed to the game of hockey, but they are interested in learning! We were amazed by the NHL’s generous donation and honored by Willie O’Ree’s visit.”
On behalf of all the students at CCSC who benefitted, we’d like to express our gratitude to Willie O’Ree and NHL for their generous support of high-need classrooms! We’re especially grateful to Michael DiLorenzo and Rob Wooley for making it all happen behind the scenes.
Want to follow in Willie’s footsteps and be a hero yourself? Check out other hockey requests on DonorsChoose.org!
1 comments:
Awesome! Its great when hockey gets introduced into the not-so-common places. I have a projected posted on donorschoose.org, and its so great to see other teachers get their projects funded, especially a large project like this one.
Post a Comment