Web site donates over 35 billion grains of rice
Josh Kurtz
Issue date: 6/6/08 Section: News
During FreeRice's first day on the web, 830 grains of rice were donated, according to The Washington Post. Eight days later, a total of 6,403,920 grains had been donated.
Rice earned through FreeRice is given to the United Nations' World Food Program. The money for the rice comes from a sponsor who advertises on each page. Since the FreeRice web site does not make a profit, the money from the advertisers goes towards purchasing rice, according to the FreeRice frequently asked questions page.
Users can also pay to donate rice through a separate link on the web site.
Users can donate rice by choosing the correct synonym or brief definition of a given word from a list of four choices. Based on their proficiency, users will be moved up or down to different word difficulty levels.
For instance, a sample level-40 word is "bailey," and the site gives the possible definitions "informer," "hurt," "leaning" and "castle wall." If the user chooses the correct definition, which in this case is "castle wall," 20 grains of rice will be donated.
FreeRice was started by John Breen, a computer programmer, according to the Washington Post. Breen chose to make the site a test of vocabulary after watching his son study for the SATs.
FreeRice is a sister web site of Poverty.com, which teaches people about world hunger.
Rice earned through FreeRice is given to the United Nations' World Food Program. The money for the rice comes from a sponsor who advertises on each page. Since the FreeRice web site does not make a profit, the money from the advertisers goes towards purchasing rice, according to the FreeRice frequently asked questions page.
Users can also pay to donate rice through a separate link on the web site.
Users can donate rice by choosing the correct synonym or brief definition of a given word from a list of four choices. Based on their proficiency, users will be moved up or down to different word difficulty levels.
For instance, a sample level-40 word is "bailey," and the site gives the possible definitions "informer," "hurt," "leaning" and "castle wall." If the user chooses the correct definition, which in this case is "castle wall," 20 grains of rice will be donated.
FreeRice was started by John Breen, a computer programmer, according to the Washington Post. Breen chose to make the site a test of vocabulary after watching his son study for the SATs.
FreeRice is a sister web site of Poverty.com, which teaches people about world hunger.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Mike Thorn
posted 6/07/08 @ 7:55 PM EST
Another great charity site is AIDtoCHILDREN.com. It donates money to children in need through World Vision.
Check it out at http://www.aidtochildren. (Continued…)
Post a Comment