Wednesday, October 1, 2008

A Worthy Cause

I've been writing seriously for about seven years now. And in that time I've heard and read countless claims that that people don't read the way they used to, and therefore the book biz is dying a painful death.


Sadly there is some truth to those claims, but I truly believe people will always go for a good story, or yearn to learn something new. I believe there is a book and genre out there for everyone -- it's just a matter of making that match.


I fell in love with reading, books and fictional stories at a young age. That love has never faded. Now I have the opportunity through this blog to help other kids discover the love of reading.


I recently made the comment in a Post that I should probably do more charitable giving. I have been given that chance now by a cool organization called DonorsChoose.org.

Donors Choose is an organization that helps public school teachers find the funds needed to maximize their student's learning experience. They have a wide variety of project and locales and a donor can choose exactly what projects they wish to donate to. This month DonorsChoose is holding a blogger challenge and they invited me to participate. I hoping many of my readers will take the plunge and donate a few bucks to the projects I've selected, or if you don't like those take a bit of time and look around the site until you find a project that does catch your eye.

Of course the projects I've selected all have to do with books and reading. As a writer it is to my benefit to help insure there will be a generation of readers for the future and as a reader I hope there will also be a generation of talented writers churning out books for me to read in my old age. The widget will stay at the top of my blog for the entire month of October, but the projects may change, especially if enough of you help out this worthwhile cause. My hope is that I will have to add more projects once the ones I've selected have been funded. You can give as little as $5, or the price of a single Whopper combo before tax. Give and I'll buy you a burger if I ever get the chance.

Thanks,
Travis

By the way the widget says GIVE TO Travis Erwin, but just to be clear the money you donate goes straight to the classroom. It does not come my way or fund my rum habit. Also here is a direct link to my giving page.

16 comments:

Laura K. Curtis said...

I donated! Thanks for the heads' up, Travis. What a great site!

Travis Erwin said...

Thanks Laura, it really is a cool concept and a worthy cause.

Joshua said...

very cool man, when i get paid friday I'll drop some green for a good cause. very cool man.

Angie Ledbetter said...

What a sweetheart!

Lisa said...

What a great idea Travis. I hope you don't mind that I chose to donate to a literacy project in an inner city Denver school (gotta support my peeps). Thank you for turning us on to this. You're a good man. :)

Travis Erwin said...

Not at all Lisa, that is what makes DonorsChoose so cool. You can pick where and how your donation will be used.

Janna Leadbetter said...

Fantastic! I didn't know this was an option, but what a great one it is. Great organization!

Charles Gramlich said...

I'll check it out. Anything that encourages reading is fine by me.

Anonymous said...

Great idea! We should all give back when we can!

Rick said...

Wow. Where were you doing our "Why Johnny Can't Read" panel discussion last year?

Wonderful idea and count me in. Thanks, Travis.

Lana Gramlich said...

Kudos, Travis!

pattinase (abbott) said...

The donations to charities has fallen way off. Get a free book by Stona Fitch by donating to any local charity. And nothing deserves donations more than our educational system. Too many teachers buy their own materials.

Lyzzydee said...

What a great idea, off to take a look.

Melissa Amateis said...

Travis, this is totally awesome of you. I think people still want to hear stories and still want to buy books. And I know they'll be buying one of yours someday!

Phats said...

Hey I am a teacher!! Can you just make a check out to me? hahaha JK! Great cause Travis.

I love reading and always will.

Didn't realize your Huskers are playing Missouri this weekend OUCH

Barbara Martin said...

Indigo bookstores up here has a similar program and I do my donating there. It's a great cause you're working for Travis.