Since we give $5 to DonorsChoose for every new customer that signs up, Emma employees have a lot of fun directing upwards of $2,000 each month to deserving classrooms. A rotating cast of our staffers hand-pick where the money goes each time, and it's such a joy to make personal connections and help underfunded teachers and projects.

Let's take a look at some recent projects we've helped fund …

Comic books bring Shakespeare to life

Cody De Vos, a member of our agency relations team, directed and co-wrote Terminator the Second, a re-imagination of Terminator II using dialogue culled directly from Shakespeare's works. It's no stretch to say he's a film geek.

So with that production fresh on their minds, a few staffers quickly fell in love with Mrs. C's request for comic book versions of Romeo and Juliet. We hope this project inspired her high school students to embrace the works of Shakespeare — and become life-long readers.

Books in bags for better readers

Jerry Morrison keeps IT operations running smoothly around the office, and he's also the father of a young son who's enthusiastic about reading. When choosing this project as one for Emma to fund, he knew that purchasing books for a low-income, second-grade classroom was a no-brainer.

"I know how much my kiddo loves reading and getting cool books to bring home from school," he said. "I think it would be neat to help give these kids the same excitement."

Smile for the yearbook

Mrs. H. sponsors an after-school art club and supervises the yearbook, but she'd always taken the pictures herself or recruited parents' help. This year, though, she wanted to give her students digital cameras so they could capture memories through their own eyes.

David Weintraub, a senior sales associate at Emma and professional photographer, spotted the project. "It's great to support young photography students," he said. "I love that we helped them get the tools they need to learn."

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Thanks for joining Emma, and helping us do some good in classrooms around the country. Think you'd like to get more involved? It's completely possible that your ability to help spark a love of reading, passion for graphic design or enthusiasm for football is only a click away. Visit DonorsChoose.org to find projects that fit your own interests, and tell us what you find.