Help Keep Durham and Raleigh Kids in School

Hey guys, this is a reprise of last year’s post about a great organization, Communities in Schools of Durham. The second annual Triangle Media Ryder Cup happens this year on Saturday, June 1, and in 2012 we raised $662.34 for CIS-Durham. This year, we’ve added a sponsor to the mix- Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q- and have added CIS-Raleigh to our list of supported charities. We’re hoping to double last year’s output, so please read the information below and, if you agree with us that it’s a worthy cause, help us by donating as little as $10 or as much as $17 million.

(For specific instructions on how to donate, please visit this website. There, you will find easy, step-by-step guide for donating to either organization. It won’t take more than two minutes!)

My friends, I’m afraid that I have to do the worst thing one human being can ever do to another:

I’m asking you for money.

Hey wait! Don’t stop reading.

This money happens to be for an incredibly good cause. Before I get to that, there are probably some of you who don’t know about the Triangle Media Ryder Cup. The basics: It’s a golf tournament between traditional media types (newspaper, radio, television) and internet types (me and my ilk). For more information, check out these links:

–The Triangle Media Ryder Cup – format, location, etc.

–Rosters and Charity Information

Now that you’re caught up, I’d like ask that you help us support Communities in Schools of Durham and Communities in Schools of Wake County, our chosen charities. You’ll find guided donation instructions below, along with our current total, but I’d like to spend a couple short paragraphs telling you about the organization.

(For specific instructions on how to donate, please visit this website. There, you will find easy, step-by-step guide for donating to either organization. It won’t take more than two minutes!)

CIS’ goal, in their words, is “to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.” I highly recommend visiting their website to learn about the specific strategies, such as summer reading programs, dropout prevention programs, parent counseling, and full-time staff in schools dedicated to the sole purpose of increasing the graduation rate.

This is a tremendously worthy cause, and one I’ve personally vetted. All my research, and everyone I’ve spoken with, confirms that what they’re doing is integral to under-served students in Durham and Wake Counties. As journalists and as people, anything we can do to improve the quality of education in American cities has benefits that reach beyond the students we help. When kids drop out of high school, which happens 400 times per year in Durham, they’re more likely to go on welfare, commit crime, and end up in gangs and prison. That hurts us all- it hurts us financially and in more indirect ways.

In education’s case, a high tide really does raise all ships. We’re hoping to raise $2,000 to support them through the Triangle Media Ryder Cup. $600 of that total will come from the 20 golfers heading out to Apex on Saturday, June 16.

This is where you come in. Our goal is to raise the other $1,400 from the general public. If you’ve ever enjoyed the free writing of anyone on Team Internet, or consumed your news from the folks on Team Traditional, we’d ask you to help out. Even if you don’t know who we are, but would like to aid the educational process in Durham and Raleigh, we’d deeply appreciate the help. A donation as low as $10 gets us closer to the goal.

Tracie Miller, the Development Director at CIS-Durham, and Robert Hadley, the Strategic Initiatives Director of CIS-Wake, have generously agreed to keep track of donations that come through the Triangle Media Ryder Cup. That way, we can calculate our total at the end.

For specific instructions on how to donate, please visit this website. There, you will find easy, step-by-step guide for donating to either organization. It won’t take more than two minutes!

Total Donations to Date: $650

Tonight, May 28, Mike Maniscalco (Team Traditional Captain) and I will announce the pairings for the first round. Stay tuned!