DonorsChoose.org, Benjamin Watson & The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation Rally Football Fans to Support Classrooms for "Teacher Champion Challenge"

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- DonorsChoose.org and The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation are calling on football fans to support public school classrooms through the Teacher Champion Challenge, launching today. DonorsChoose.org, the nonprofit funding platform for public school teachers seeking school supplies, will track donations to classrooms in cities home to this year's pro football playoff teams between January 3 and February 3, 2019. At the end of the challenge, The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation will award $100,000 to support team sports-related classroom project requests in the playoff city that raises the most in total donations-per-student.

To announce the challenge, DonorsChoose.org and Benjamin Watson, tight-end for the New Orleans Saints, released a video filmed with the students at Estelle School in New Orleans.

"The children in our classrooms today are our future," said Watson. "I'm excited to join DonorsChoose.org and the Teacher Champion Challenge because when teachers have the right support they can help students achieve their dreams and change the course of history."

Public school teachers visit DonorsChoose.org to create projects requesting a wide range of resources and experiences, such as books, classroom supplies, sports equipment, technology, musical instruments, field trips and more. When donors fully fund these project requests from teachers, DonorsChoose.org purchases the materials and ships them directly to the classroom. Donors hear from the classroom they've helped through impact letters, photos of the project in action, and thank you notes.

Fans can support their favorite team's hometown teachers by visiting http://www.donorschoose.org/teacherchamps and clicking on the link to give to a project. Eligible areas include:

• Baltimore (Baltimore and Baltimore City Counties)
• Boston (Middlesex, Norfolk, and Suffolk Counties)
• Chicago (Cook County)
• Dallas (Dallas County)
• Houston (Harris County)
• Indianapolis (Marion County)
• Kansas City (Jackson and Wyandotte Counties)
• Los Angeles (Los Angeles County)
• New Orleans (Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Bernard Parishes)
• Philadelphia (Philadelphia County)
• Seattle (King County)

"The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation remains proud to partner with DonorsChoose.org," said James Rooney, Executive Director of The DICK'S Foundation. "The mission of this organization remains vital in providing needed resources for teachers around the country and the Teacher Champion Challenge is another great example of the impact being made."

"We're so grateful for the support from Benjamin Watson and The DICK'S Foundation as we launch the Teacher Champion Challenge," said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org. "We're calling on football fans everywhere to put their competitive spirit to work, supporting teachers and their imaginative ideas for their students. Our future football stars, gold-medal athletes, and champions of all kinds are in the classroom today, and we want them to have the tools they need to succeed."

For more information, visit http://www.donorschoose.org/teacherchamps.

About DonorsChoose.org
DonorsChoose.org is the leading platform for giving to public schools. Teachers across America use the site to create projects requesting resources their students need, and donors give to the projects that inspire them. Since its founding by a Bronx teacher in 2000, more than 3.5 million people and partners have given $775 million to projects reaching 31 million students. Unique among education funding platforms, the DonorsChoose.org team vets each project request and ships resources directly to the school. Every donor receives photos of their project in action, thank-yous from the classroom, and a cost report showing how every dollar was spent. DonorsChoose.org was the first charity to make the top 10 on Fast Company's list of the Most Innovative Companies in the World.

About The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation
The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with a mission to inspire and enable sports participation. It was created by DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. as a private corporate foundation to support DICK'S charitable and philanthropic activities.

SOURCE DonorsChoose.org