The devastating EF5 tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri may not be making front-page headlines, but for those living in the aftermath of the storm, the story is far from over. According to Reuters, roughly 2,000 buildings were destroyed, including homes, businesses, hospitals and schools. There’s still much rebuilding to be done, and that’s why DonorsCoose.org has launched the Rebuild Joplin Schools project.

For Joplin students, the school year begins August 17th. Area teachers are working to replaced the basic items they lost in the storm, such as books, calculators, pencils, paper, computers and other teaching tools.

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Imagine this: You are an elementary student. You have parents and some siblings, ride the bus to school and back home again, and have friends. Life sounds pretty normal, right? It is, except for one big difference: you are also homeless.

This is everyday life for Brianna, Tamara, and Sydney Collins, daughters of James Collins and Felicia Blue. The couple has six children and the entire family currently lives in a 13′ x 15′ room with three bunk beds at a homeless shelter. Every morning, the girls look forward to going to school at Fern Creek Elementary School, if for no other reason than to escape their cramped space. Surprisingly to many, their story is not unique.

Twenty percent of the students who attend Fern Creek Elementary School in Orange County, Florida, are homeless. For many of these children, going to school is a bright spot in their days.

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During the holiday season, we often turn our thoughts to those in need. A charitable gift to an education organization not only helps students while they’re in school, but can also give them a stepping-stone to a leading a better life. Consider making a donation to one of the organizations below, all of which are working to improve education around the world.

DonorsChoose.org

If you purchase a DonorsChoose giving card as a gift, your recipient can choose the classroom project they want to fund.

UNICEF

UNICEF not only provides for children’s basic needs, they also provide them with resources for their intellectual development. For example, UNICEF creates schools for children living in refugee camps around the world.

Millennium Promise

Millennium Promise is an international non-profit organization that works with impoverished communities to improve their living conditions. One of their primary goals is to ensure that all children have access to a full primary school education.

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Parents have often been known to save box tops for education, open Upromise accounts, donate to school programs through companies like Target, and collect labels for education, but the latest company to help parents and students donate much needed supplies and funding to their public schools is Borders.

The company, popular for its vast assortment of books, is now awarding any Borders customer that makes a purchase in one of their stores nationwide a special $15 gift card to then donate to the public school of their choice.

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If you have a camera and a passion for the environment, then this is the contest for you!

Bing.com is sponsoring an Earth Day photo contest for students. This contest will allow “students to honor Earth Day and spend some time outside learning about and photographing their natural environment.”

Bing will feature the winning photos on its homepage during Earth Week, April 13-April 19. And in addition gopro cameras are expected to be used during the competition, given its capability to capture good quality photos.

The process is very simple. First, you upload your photos that inspire “people to care about the environment“ to Bing, and then people can vote for their favorite photos. After the finalists have been selected, up to 20,000 finalists will receive $5 gift cards to DonorsChoose.org, a website that allows you to make a charitable donation to any classroom project you chose.

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Sometimes I get a really strong urge to help others. The problem is, I don’t always know how to go about doing it. Sometimes I volunteer in my community, but other times I simply make a donation.

How to choose which organization to donate to though? That’s another problem. Man, who thought trying to do a little good in the world could be so difficult?

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