Colton woman's nonprofit site Donate2Educate raises cash for libraries!

Colton woman's nonprofit website Donate2Educate raises cash, supplies for schools
Published: Friday, June 18, 2010, 11:07 AM Updated: Friday, June 18, 2010, 11:22 AM
Special to The Oregonian Special to The Oregonian

John Flavin/Special to The OregonianDarleen Vaterlaus of Colton has put in numerous hours and dollars over the past seven years to create a bridge between schools and communities.

As K-12 public education suffers yet another round of cuts, Darleen Vaterlaus of Colton, founder of the website www.donate2educate.org, works to help local communities help their schools.

Since Vaterlaus started her nonprofit site in 2003, she and its board, along with 40 volunteers, have been responsible for injecting more than $300,000 into Oregon schools. She is aiming to raise more than $400,000 by the end of 2010.

Once a school signs up with Vaterlaus, teachers at that school can then post their needs on the website -- recent requests include Spanish dictionaries, first aid kits, calculators, paper, playground equipment and supermarket gift cards to buy healthy snacks for students who arrive at school without having had breakfast.

Roger Rada, superintendent of the Oregon City School District, said, "Donate2Educate allows teachers to easily submit their classroom requests online, allowing funds to flow directly into our classrooms."

Visitors to the site can either make donations with their credit cards or deliver their donations directly to schools. In Vaterlaus' words, the website is "a communication and funding bridge between the classroom and community."

"This is about the community," said Vaterlaus. "It's that whole 'it takes a village' mentality."

She said 51 percent of teachers' requests are being fulfilled, up from 40 percent last year.

About 80 percent of donations are delivered directly to the schools. "That's a huge thing for people to understand," Vaterlaus said, because that erases donors' doubt that their gifts will be lost in administrative costs or diverted in some way.

Teresa Lewis, a teacher at Eagle Creek Elementary School, said she recently received money to buy prizes so she could reward students for their efforts in reading. "I am pleased to say that the help of Estacada Community Foundation and Donate2Educate is making a difference in children's lives," Lewis said.

Vaterlaus is not collecting administrative fees or taking a salary. "Volunteerism runs this program," she said. She runs the website because she wants to make a difference. Vaterlaus, 45, attended Oregon schools and has two children who graduated from Colton High School and are attending Oregon universities.

Vaterlaus said 25 Clackamas County schools are participating in Donate2Educate, along with six elsewhere in the state; six more are awaiting approval. By the end of 2010, she hopes to add 70 more schools. She and the board plan to pursue grant and sponsorship funding, with the goals of hiring a small staff, leasing office space and eventually getting participation from every district in the state.

"If someone makes a donation to a teacher, it does more than provide an item or activity for a classroom," Vaterlaus said. "It reminds teachers that the community cares. I've had teachers say to me, 'I didn't know that anyone cared.' "

-- John Flavin