This is the first year I’m on a network that is participating in Donors Choose. I really don’t want to have to do this.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Donors Choose is providing a valuable service. I want these kids to have what they need to get a rich education and discover the joy in learning in a way that old, worn out classrooms and materials will make more difficult. I want them to have things they can touch and play with and sometimes even break because there’s enough to go around. I want their educations to fit them for a modern world in a way their outdated books simply won’t. I want them to have every opportunity to succeed, for themselves and for the society they’ll be creating when they’re grown.

I just don’t want them to have to rely on charity to get it.

We should be funding education and poverty relief such that no teacher ever has to come to us and beg for our help. It isn’t just human and decent and all that, but it’s one of the smartest uses to which we can put our money. Asking most people to be smart, however, is apparently some kind of inhumane imposition. At least Donors Choose is here, and at least there are people like the readers of Freethought Blogs who understand the value of an education.

With that in mind, I didn’t pick local projects for my challenge. If you click on the widget at the top of the right column, you’ll see that I chose projects in red states, most of them highly religious. These kids are some of the most underserved in the nation. Not only are their schools and communities among the most deliberately underfunded, but they also live in a culture that undervalues learning. If we want to change things, this is where we start.

I’ll highlight projects as we go through the month. I’ll add more if we start to run low on choices. I’ll even remind you from time to time that Freethought Blogs is in a competition with some science blogging networks to see who can raise the most money through these challenges. For now, however, I’m just going to ask that you click on that link, find a project that suits your preferences, and help give these kids the education they deserve.