Charles Best
DonorsChoose.org
New York, NY USA
"Your hustle will get you ahead, and your humility is what will have people rooting for you to get ahead."
Career Roadmap
Charles's work combines: Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Early on, it was a real struggle to get funding and I gave myself a firm deadline to shut down if nothing happened. I kept pushing and thankfully I got a donor that enabled us to keep going. I learned you can never give up.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
History, General
Yale University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
In high school, he had an English teacher and wrestling coach, Mr. Buxton, that he really looked up to.
2.
Realized that if he could get kids to look up to him the way he looked up to Mr. Buxton, he would have given his share back to the world.
3.
He taught in the Bronx for five years, where he and his colleagues were forced to spend their own money on basic supplies for students.
4.
Knew that people would be more willing to help teachers if they could see exactly where their money was going.
5.
For the majority of donors on the site, this is their first encounter with the lack of funding going to public schools in low-income community.
6.
As a result, the site not only gives funding to classroom projects, but it also motivates donors to vote for education reform.
7.
He aspires to two qualities: hustle and humility.
8.
"Hustle" captures the shameless pursuit of getting people onboard with your idea; "humility" is what gets people to root for you.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
If I don't get funding in three weeks, I'm shutting the website down.
How I responded:
Early on, it was a real struggle to get funding and I gave myself a firm deadline to shut down if nothing happened. I kept pushing and thankfully I got a donor that enabled us to keep going. I learned you can never give up.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
As a teacher, I was spending a lot of my own money in order to provide the supplies that my students needed.