DonorsChoose
Producers - Austin Chang, Alvin Seenauth, Liza Pagano
Cinematographer - Yves Wilson
Editor - Austin Chang
Post Sound Mix - Chayan Sanchez
NON-PROFIT
CASE STUDY
BACK STORY
DonorsChoose wanted to make a bold and emphatic statement in celebration of teachers and all that they contribute to their classrooms for Teacher Appreciation Week 2025. They wanted to capture teachers in action—working with students, engaging in their classrooms, and making an impact—creating a visually striking tribute to their dedication and influence.
Their goals were to produce a compelling video that highlighted teachers’ dedication and inspired gratitude for their work and that would drive significant donations.
THE RESULTS
DonorsChoose surpassed their fundraising goal in 2025, making it one of their most successful Teacher Appreciation Weeks. 44,500 people gave, and over 34,000 teachers received funding for their classrooms.
DonorsChoose is a nonprofit organization that provides a platform for people to make a direct donation to teachers who need more resources to enhance their students' classroom experience. For Teacher Appreciation Week 2025 we collaborated with DonorsChoose producing a campaign that highlighted 4 teachers in NYC that went above and beyond for their students and communities.
CREATIVE APPROACH
For this campaign there were a few challenges: interviewing four teachers in four different locations in less than three days, filming each interview from setup to breakdown within ninety minutes (sometimes under 1 hour) and getting the teachers to feel confident, authentic and express the appropriate emotions within that time constraint.
With solid creative direction from Alvin Seenauth, the in-house video producer at DonorsChoose, we were able to be minimalist and natural with our set ups to align with the nonprofit's vision, while also allowing each teacher to communicate clearly and to feel comfortable and confident on camera.
When filming the children we remained flexible and used our intuition to orchestrate shots while leaning into the lesson and activities planned for the day. Our intention was to capture on camera the essence of each child expressed through their natural responses to one another, their teachers, and what was taking place in the classroom.
