A Challenge for TypePad Members!

This Monday, October 1, TypePad members will have the opportunity to make a big difference in the lives of public school kids by participating in a Blogger Challenge through DonorsChoose.org. Donors Choose is a non-profit organization with a great platform that lets you “shop” for the classroom projects that excite you, then easily donate to them. All of the projects are submitted by public school teachers and are designed to fulfill student needs and bring learning to life, like improving vocabulary with a class set of dictionaries ($150), discouraging teen pregnancy with ‘Baby-Think-It-Over’ dolls ($500), or taking students to Washington, D.C. to see the Supreme Court consider a case ($2,000). The Blogger Challenge is an opportunity for you to inspire the readers of your blog to donate, too.

We think the Blogger Challenge is a wonderful way for you to harness your power as a blogger, to reach people with similar interests, and to make a difference in the lives of students and teachers around the U.S. We’re so excited about this that we’re distributing philanthropic gift certificates you can use to help fund a classroom project of your choice. You can request a gift certificate worth $30 at donorschoose@sixapart.com. Request your code now — they are available until noon on Monday. Allow a day or two to receive it.

Using the gift certificate will help you understand how the program works. We hope that your experience picking a classroom project will inspire you to participate in the DonorsChoose.org Blogger Challenge, which starts on October 1. You have a handy TypePad Donors Choose widget for this very purpose. Fire it up and put it to work for you by Monday.

Six Apart is sponsoring an award for the bloggers who help the greatest number of students during the Blogger Challenge. Keep your eye out — more details will follow on Monday…