Jason Derulo, Tate McRae, Alessia Cara, Sabrina Carpenter, Ryan Seacrest, Elvis Duran, Mario Lopez And More Rally Listeners To Provide Students And Teachers With The Tools And Experiences Needed For A Great Education | Osmo To Match Up To $50,000 In Listener Donations
NEW YORK -- August 16, 2021 -- iHeartMedia today launched ‘iHeartRadio BackToSchool’ – a fundraising campaign to support U.S. public school teachers in partnership with DonorsChoose, a national education nonprofit leading the way in connecting donors to teachers in need of classroom resources and experiences. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), public school teachers spend nearly $500 of their own money on school supplies every year, and DonorsChoose, the country’s most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors and school districts, provides essential classroom resources to educators from every corner of America to help bridge that gap.
iHeart’s national campaign kicks off on Monday, August 16 and will run through Friday, September 10 across iHeartRadio CHR-mainstream stations, and will drive listeners and fans to DonorsChoose to fund local classroom projects in their communities. The program will include a series of radio spots featuring artists and influencers including Jason Derulo, Tate McRae, Alessia Cara, Sabrina Carpenter and others, as well as iHeartMedia nationally syndicated on-air personalities Ryan Seacrest, Mario Lopez and Elvis Duran, all rallying fans to join iHeart in supporting local schools across the country by contributing to local teachers’ requests on the DonorsChoose website.
The joint initiative is made possible by Osmo, a hands-on, tech-powered learning company, who will match listener donations up to $50,000 to ensure students in every community have the supplies they need to keep learning.
“We’re heading into what could be the most important back-to-school season in recent history,” said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose. “This partnership with Osmo and iHeart will help enrich the education of students in schools across the country and empower teachers to start the year even stronger.”
The ‘iHeartRadio BackToSchool’ campaign continues Osmo's long-standing partnership with educators nationwide. Teachers in more than 50,000 classrooms currently use Osmo Edu games for independent learning, small-group instruction, and centers. Osmo helps students develop real world skills through hands-on learning and digital gameplay.
“When it comes to student success in math, literacy, and other core subjects, we know the right learning tools make all the difference,” said Pramod Sharma, CEO of Osmo. “We’re proud to join with iHeartMedia and DonorsChoose in this effort to give every student the learning experience they deserve.”
“iHeart’s commitment to the community, especially this back-to-school season, extends to our teachers, students and families. ‘iHeartRadio BackToSchool’ was developed to help distribute essential classroom resources to the students who need them the most,” said Hartley Adkins, President for iHeartMedia Markets Group. “iHeart has a long history of working with DonorsChoose to address the specific needs of local classrooms and we are grateful to Osmo for their shared vision that learning is a universal right and for their generous match contribution.”
Visit http://www.donorschoose.org/iHeartBTS to support a classroom project.
About DonorsChoose
DonorsChoose is the leading way to give to public schools. Since 2000, 4.8 million people and partners have contributed $1.1 billion to support nearly 2 million teacher requests for classroom resources and experiences. As the most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors, and district administrators alike, DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to the classroom, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Charity Navigator and GuideStar have awarded DonorsChoose, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, their highest ratings for transparency and accountability. For more information, go to http://www.donorschoose.org.
About Osmo
Osmo is an award-winning STEAM brand with more than 2.5 million learners worldwide. It is building a universe of hands-on play experiences that nourish the minds of children by unleashing the power of imagination. The company brings physical tools into the digital world through augmented reality and its proprietary reflective artificial intelligence. Osmo is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and is part of BYJU’S, a global leader in online learning. Learn more at playosmo.com.