Cents in Action: Erin Johnson

Welcome to our third Cents in Action blog post. Every Sunday, we will be featuring an educator who has used our site to raise money for a school or classroom need. Last week, we featured Carol Cabrera of High Tech High. You can check it out here if you missed it!

Meet Erin Johnson of The Soulsville Charter School in Memphis, Tennessee. Erin is a math teacher who just started her 6th year in a the classroom! She is passionate about her students and their ability to achieve.

Erin turned to PledgeCents as part of her effort to purchase TI-Nspire calculators to increase the amount of self-directed learning in her classroom. Through Erin's hard work and dedication to her students, she has raised a total of $10,536, more than doubling her original goal of $4,500. And she still has 5 days to go!

Her story has been featured on blog posts and local Memphis news stations. So far, 47 investors have contributed to her classroom cause to show Erin and her students that they believe in them.

Erin was kind enough to share some of her thoughts and experiences regarding teaching and PledgeCents. Here is just some of what she had to say!

How long have you been a teacher, and what is your favorite teaching moment from your career so far?

This is my sixth year teaching. My favorite teaching moment was my first year. I worked hard with a student that needed to pass a math exam to graduate from high school. He would come everyday after school and we worked on skills. After his first semester, he still had not passed it. His second semester, he passed it! I was so proud of him. I realized that my job had the potential to be very rewarding. Also, that year, I had 100% students to be proficient in the Algebra I test. I was excited about what I could do for my students!

How much of your own money do you think you have put toward your classroom and students in any given year, and what have you spent it on?

The most I have put toward my class in a given year was $1000. That was this year. I was so passionate about what I wanted to achieve, I wanted my donors to see that passion. I spent it on technology for my class.

With so many fundraising options out there, why did you choose to work with the PledgeCents team?

One of my coworkers, Kallie Harrell, told me that it was a great platform. I admire her! I knew she had results through PledgeCents, so I decided to go with them!

What would be your advice to another teacher who is considering using PledgeCents?

Be passionate about your cause! Tell EVERYONE! Don’t be afraid to talk to random strangers about your goals and vision for your class. Have a detailed proposal about why your cause is so important and the impact it will have for your kids.

(And our very favorite question...)If you were one school supply what would you be and why?

LOL! If I were a school supply, I would be a computer because they can be used in so many cool and resourceful ways!

Thanks so much to Erin for sharing her experiences with us, and we wish her the best of luck for the upcoming school year! If you would like to contribute to her cause over the next few days, click here!