My Best Teacher contest (I'd hire someone to drive this)

My following effort has been stymied because people won't take the time to write their stories.  Interviewing them would work.  But I'd like to arrange a phone number where they can dictate their stories, then use software to convert it into a word document which could be edited and then emailed to the submitter for approval.  I'd like to hire someone to set this up.

The contest works as follows:

·         People describe how a specific teacher has had a memorable impact on their family --- usually someone who taught the writer or the writer’s children.  (People are encouraged to submit more than one teacher.)

·         A panel of judges evaluates the stories to select winners. Although the stories could be about teachers from anywhere, the winning stories have to be about Kansas City-area teachers, at least for this first round.

·         Prizes

·         First prize: $20,000 endowment at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation (GKCCF) to fund an on-going philanthropy class honoring that teacher.  Each year, we will teach a philanthropy class to a class at that teacher’s school.  Each child will get a $25 Giving Card which they redeem on-line through the www.donoredge.org web-site.  Teachers will probably ask students to discuss why they chose their recipients.  $20,000 should permit inflationary increases in the $25 over time.

·         Two runners-up prizes will fund a single one-time class in honor of other teachers.

·         Prizes are financed through the “My Most Memorable Teacher” fund at GKCCF.

·         The person who wrote the winning entry and the teacher (if living) could attend the class, with permission of the school.

·         An event might be held to honor the teacher, inviting other fans of the teacher.

·         If feasible, the submissions will be sold as a book (hard copy and/or electronically), with proceeds going to the fund at GKCCF.  (We'll get permission from each person who submitted an essay.)

·         Each person who submits an entry gets a $25 Giving Card.  In addition, Richard Seltzer (http://samizdat.stores.yahoo.net/) has offered each submitter one of his $29 (or less expensive) Great Literature CDs (complete text of 100+ books typically) for FREE (or a $29 credit toward a larger purchase).  If you submit an entry, tell me which one you want and I'll ask Richard to send it.

Goals:

·         Start children on the road toward community service. Build future philanthropists.

o    Enable children to experience the satisfaction of philanthropy.

o    Help children to envision themselves “making a difference” in their lives.

o    Educate children (and indirectly, their family) about the positive impacts of non-profit organizations in our community, possibly leading to more donations of time or money or more utilization of non-profit services.

·         Promote effective teaching

o    Encourage people to realize the impact great teachers have had on their lives.

o    Show, and build, respect for teachers.  Build well-deserved satisfaction and pride in teachers who have done wonderful jobs.

o    Present role model behavior for young teachers.

o    Contribute to encouraging people to become teachers and to remain in a teaching career.

o    Facilitate the ability of people to express thanks to their teachers (and maybe re-unite a few of them).

·         Expand usage of the Giving Cards.

o    Publicize Giving Cards and the GKCCF, leading to more

·         Inspire more such philanthropy-education classes

o    Other donors can fund (or contribute to funding) of such classes on a one-time basis, perhaps in honor of teachers

o    Other classes can be endowed.

o    Influence other cities to take similar action.

Note: an alternative class design might work as follows:

·         The teacher announces that each child will control $25.  Six (or another number) children will earn the honor of selecting the organizations to receive the donations.  Those children will then promote to the class why their recipient is worthy.

·         The other children will each pick one of those six recipients to receive their $25.

·         All six organizations will get at least $25; more, depending on the marketing skills of their student advocate.

·           This approach teaches the children to submit a "grant proposal" (why they should be one of the children who selects the non-profit organizations), which is helpful training for college or job applications.  It stimulates and develops marketing, public speaking, and other skills.  We could add a little money for the non-profit whose advocate raises the most money from his/her classmates’ Giving Cards.