Leadpile is happy to be a part of the volunteer efforts in the community for the holidays. This year several people from Leadpile (including Natasha Aronov and yours truly) took a few hours out of our busy schedules to help those less fortunate go shopping. We are very proud to volunteer our time to help those less fortunate, and are very excited on what the Salvation Army does for these children and all those across our nation. Thanks for letting us be apart of this effort. Also, thanks to John Murray and his wife Alicia who do this special event each year for the kids. You are the best!

Leadpile Lead Exchange is committed to giving back to the community. Each month we have a designated charity that we extend a helpful hand to. Some of the things that we contributed to during this month were:

Classroom Project: “TIME to Learn About the World Around Us” – Contributing to this project allows us to give in the purchasing of a subscription to TIME for Kids. This magazine subscription would allow students to learn what is going on in the world around them, in a manner that they understand. This magazine promotes reading and learning in a “kid” friendly format.

Classroom Project: “Teaching Technology With Technology” – Contributing to this project will help in the purchase of an LCD projector that this particular school really needs. The LCD projector is very important in a sense it helps allow students to follow along visually while learning computer skills.

Classroom Project: “Producing Quality Art with a Purpose” – Contributing to this project will help with the purchase of a high quality camera for the graphic design program. This sort of camera is very important for the program so the students can take high quality pictures for the advertising projects.

We were able to help with these children’s projects this month through the website DonorsChoose.org. Donors Choose allows companies like Leadpile to be matched up with schools that are in need of supplies and materials.

As children, we all got exposed to the library and how important it was to read books.  However, in recent years the library has become a far second to the internet.  With most Americans having a computer in their home, children are now learning the importance of the internet.  The internet has become the quickest way to learn about anything you could imagine.  However, is this affecting the library and the number of people that attend them?  It appears, there is still value added with the library.

According to NPR News, the library is in fact still a place that many recommend you go to for job information, financial advice/information, and anything else you need to know. In recent years, there has been grants given to libraries that allows them to update resources and offer programs to consumers. Some see a library and it’s librarians as a more “trusted” source for information about things like their finances. The internet can be something potentially that people might not trust as much. So, if you are little overwhelmed by all the information on the internet, you might now want to start to reconsider utilizing your local library! Leadpile Lead Exchange also believes in the power of reading and the library. The Heber-Overgaard Library was one of our designated charities, that the Leadpile team contributed donations to in 2008. Knowledge is power!

Chicago, IL: Grades 9-12 (High School)

Our Monthly Donation goes to Chicago, IL for the project “Documenting Student Leadership”.

Here is what the teacher says: “My students are looking for leadership opportunities within our school. I am starting a Student Leadership Committee designed to address student concerns and community building. I have a strong desire to document the process by taping the meetings, projects, events, assemblies and student reflections about the process and the results.” 

We wish them good luck with the project, and we thank all our business partners for helping in making a change in the world! 

Team LeadPile!

The universe is abundant, and the more we give, the more we will get in return!

Starting this month Mr. Andy Jacob and I would like to involve everyone at LeadPile into a project we feel is a great way to “give back”, make someone happy, and receive back the blessings of the universe, be it material or just matters of the soul.

For the next 12 months, LeadPile will make a donation at the beginning of every month to a project to be selected each month by one Leadpile’s members from www.DonorsChoose.org, a charitable organization that allows donors to choose from various projects listed by teachers and make a donation to it. These projects are mainly assisting kids from schools and families with limited financial resources. A relatively small contribution goes a long way for them, making a big difference in their learning experience, and most important of all, it makes them incredibly happy and excited. Giving the gift of knowledge and education is, we feel, one of the most valuable and empowering gifts children can receive, besides the love and care of their families and teachers.

So today we will start with our first (technically second) contribution to a project to be selected in the order of each member’s “seniority” at LeadPile, aside from Mr. Jacob and I.