Web Watch

This morning Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” announced the launch of The Great Give-Back Birthday for DonorsChoose.org, the Web site that enables “citizen philanthropists” to donate online to classrooms around the country. In a brief video posted by the Huffington Post, Colbert, whose birthday is May 13, explained that he created his own “birthday page” on the charity site. In lieu of gifts, he is asking his friends, family, and fans to donate to his favorite classroom projects. To create a birthday page visit the site here.

Last month, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and DonorsChoose.org announced a grant that enables DonorsChoose.org to fund up to 50 percent of the cost of individual classroom projects developed by teachers to promote college readiness among students in high-need and underserved urban and rural public schools. Stephen Colbert moderated the event where the announcement was made. The Gates Foundation gave $4.1 million to the project, which is expected to support more than 17,000 classrooms nationwide.