November 14, 2011 |  LA Daily News

A Los Angeles foundation announced today it will contribute up to $4 million to fund classroom projects, music education, field trips and needed supplies for local school students.

The Wasserman Foundation is giving the money to the Los Angeles Unified School District through the online education charity www.DonorsChoose.org, which lets public school teachers seek private funding for classroom supplies.

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy called the announcement a “desperately needed boost” at a time of continuing massive budget cuts to public schools.

The foundation will give away $15 gift cards to about 600,000 homes with a student enrolled at a Los Angeles Unified public or charter school. Parents can use the gift cards to support projects posted on the website by teachers at their child’s school.

The district’s teachers have been encouraged to post two classroom projects on the site worth up to $800.

The Wasserman Foundation, which funds education, health and arts and culture initiatives in Los Angeles, will also give out gift cards — totaling about $2 million — to the general public at certain Los Angeles area Starbucks locations later this winter.

The foundation also announced a commitment for the next two years to match every dollar that is submitted on the www.DonorsChooseLA.org website to fund LAUSD public and charter school initiatives.

“I hope this project sparks tens of thousands of Angelenos to become micro-philanthropists by aiding critical teacher requests and creating a more robust learning environment for our kids,” foundation President Casey Wasserman said.

Photo Credit: (Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)