What do coffee drinkers and teachers have in common?
A shared passion to educate local school kids. At least, that’s what the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Starbucks are counting on. The two mega-institutions have teamed up to help King County public school teachers get money for unfunded classroom projects.
The Gates Foundation is giving away free gift cards, worth 10 dollars each, through Starbucks stores in King County, to fund local classroom projects posted on Donorschoose.org, a non-profit web site that lets people donate money to help fund teacher projects— from iPods to basic school supplies.
David Bley is director of the Pacific Northwest initiative at the Gates Foundation. He said:
"We believe that teachers cannot be successful without all of our support. Better education results are a shared responsibility for all of the adults across King County."
In all, the grant will cover $500,000 in donations which Bley said will impact about 30,000 local students. He also expects that card holders will moved to add their own money to the teacher projects.
The cards are good through November 8 and will be available until supplies run out.
If you get a card here's where to go to apply your credits toward a classroom project:
