Education is fundamental to providing equal opportunity and keeping the United States competitive in the global economy. Yet, too many of our children fall through the cracks. Every nine seconds, another student will drop out of school. And 2,000 schools are responsible for 50% of the nation’s dropouts.

With the help of P&G Give, we have been able to support and recognize the grass-roots, charitable efforts of the blogging community. So, we were happy to join with several Bloganthropy Advisory Board members and other Bloganthropy members to find out how P&G Give Education is partnering with Communities in Schools to make a difference in the lives of our most at-risk students. We were joined by the spokesman, the famous recording artist and philanthropist, John Legend. John Legend was on hand to sing his song, “Shine”, with the Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation choir from M.S. 390 in University Heights, Bronx.

During a blogger round table, John Legend, shared his passion for, and commitment to, education reform.

Some of the bloggers who spoke with John Legend have posted about their experiences:

Kimberly Coleman, of Foodie City Mom, writes: “On, the parent note, he mentioned something that really stood out…that parents (in poorer communities) need to have higher expectations for what their kids deserve education-wise. [...] Unfortunately, many parents in distressed communities are so consumed with just surviving – especially in this economy – that their kids’ education falls to the wayside.  That is where the “it takes a village” mentality comes in.  There needs to be people in the schools and community who care about all kids – not just their own.  John shared that in addition to his parent, it was the school officials – his guidance counselor, music teacher and gym teachers – who had the greatest impact on him. ” (Read the full post.)

Candace Lindemann: At my education blog, Naturally Educational, I posted:”The issue is a convoluted and messy one that does not have a simple answer. Wrapped up in issues of student performance are problems of health, pollution, race, economic inequality, urban planning, and much, much more. However, there are solutions. We know there are proven methods that can have a dramatic impact on drop out rates. As complex as the issue is, the answer may still be summed up in a word: community.” (Read the full post.)

Sarah Peppel of  also has photo and video of John Legend singing with the kids..

You can help raise a significant donation for Communities in Schools in two ways:

• On Sunday, July 31, the GIVE Education brandSAVER, featuring a note from John Legend, will be distributed in newspapers across the country, with discounts on trusted P&G products. For each GIVE Education brandSAVER coupon redeemed, P&G will donate two cents to CIS – allowing consumers to give back, while saving money. The P&G uncapped donation will be based on the number of coupons redeemed beginning July 31 – the more consumers save, the more they give.
• Watch a video featuring John Legend and CIS students on the P&G myGive Facebook page. When you watch, P&G will make an additional 25¢ donation to CIS (up to $10,000).

Disclosure: P&G Give Education reimbursed travel expenses for the area bloggers who attended the event. Bloganthropy is a non-profit (501-3c pending). The co-foudners of Bloganthropy do not take a salary or other compensation for Bloganthropy projects. All donations go directly to funding Bloganthropy awards and projects.

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