First off, we want to express both our gratitude for and amazement at the overwhelming reaction to our DonorsChoose.org charity drive so far; we're humbled that so many of you have chosen to give back to our public schools by providing crucial technology to children in some of the neediest of districts. Since the challenge began on the 9th, 45 of us (including several Engadget editors who put our money where our mouth is) have joined in to contribute over $6,000 towards nearly two dozen projects around the country, which together will fund supplies utilized by some 827 students.

That being said, our work here is far from done. Team Engadget Energizes Education is currently in fourth place on the technology leaderboard (down from a peak of second) and still needs over $20,000 to meet its goal. So even if you think that there are better causes to give to, or you're cynical about so-called "skimming" of administrative fees (incidentally, DonorsChoose does give you the option to waive any overhead and allocate 100% of your gift towards the project), we're still hoping that you'll donate just a few dollars if only because you like what you read here every day. Think of it as an optional subscription fee that goes to a worthy cause instead of even more redundant gadgets for us. We have until October 31st to raise as much money as possible, so if you can find it in your heart to help out the littlest less-fortunate this holiday season (Halloween), we'd really consider it a personal thanks and a mitzvah as well.

We like to have a lot of fun around here, but we also know that there are times to get serious and use our semi-prominent position to rally our readers around a good cause. Or in the case of the 2007 DonorsChoose blogger challenge, 25 good causes. Engadget has partnered with numerous different tech-centric programs around the country to help raise funds for the children that they serve, and with your assistance, we're hoping to collect a total of $25,000 to be distributed among these various organizations. The best part? As its name suggests, DonorsChoose allows you to allocate your donation however you please; so instead of contributing to the general "Engadget fund," you're actually giving directly to one or more programs impacting high-need public schools.

You have until October 31st to make a donation -- either by clicking here or on the Read link below -- and we sincerely hope that you'll consider helping out these projects that really do have a chance to give kids a better future. We'll keep you updated with Team Engadget's progress, and while it would be almost criminal to guarantee every reader a new HDTV if we meet our goals, well...

Read - Donate!
Read - Blogger challenge press release
Read - About DonorsChoose.org