Singlebrook talks with Heather Chirtea, founder of non-profit, Digital Wish about her mission to help bring and integrate technology into classrooms across the country.
Singlebrook: Could you tell us a little about how you got the idea for Digital Wish and how it’s evolved into the non-profit it is today?Heather Chirtea: I got the idea when I had just moved to a new area. My kids were enrolled in the local elementary school, and it was going through a school closure and consolidation process. Almost all the parents wanted to keep the school open, and I personally loved the idea of my kids going to a small school, so we started a fundraising project to renovate the school and fix it up instead of closing it. The kids went on a letter writing campaign to let the community know what we needed: to get the school repainted, to get a new playground, and to do all the necessary renovations. Between 62 kids writing letters and some grants I wrote, we were able to successfully renovate the school and keep it open. We had over 130 community members out of an 800 person community show up to volunteer. It was exciting to see the school go from a kind run-down, shabby place to a vibrant community center with a new playground and baseball field. The renovation was also a big lesson because so many of the community members said they knew the school was going to close and really wanted to help but just didn’t know how.
- See more at: http://singlebrook.com/blog/technology-for-change-heather-chirtea-digital-wish#sthash.4G0CvI8s.dpuf
