I'm Jim Dietz. I am president and CEO of the Dietz Foundation, the world's only not-for-profit board game publisher. The Dietz Foundation publishes board and card games that have educational value, regardless of the subject. We take the proceeds from donations from people who want those games to endow scholarships for future educators.

As a teacher, it's tough standing in front of a classroom and capturing the attention or excitement of everybody. When I taught, I began incorporating board games and scenarios for students to learn and experience education through play. After we had done that, we discussed the subject matter in the context of real events and real history.

I also saw how badly underfunded we were in education. I don't think most people realize that everything in an elementary school classroom is provided by the teacher. That's not funded by schools. Teachers are spending years paying off their own debt while funding classroom materials to make education as exciting as possible for their students.

One of the things that was important for me with the Foundation was to help teachers. We create scholarships for high school seniors who want to become teachers. We endow scholarships at the college level for people interested in education. In addition, I solicit donations from other companies such as books and games that I then make sure to distribute to teachers, schools, and community organizations so that they have access to games with educational value.

Students applying for college also have a lot of financial challenges. Initially I got caught up worrying about big ticket issues that demand hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, but then I talked with my wife and she pointed out that small scholarships - even if they only cover book fees - are enough to keep some students in college. Sometimes it's a matter of providing food for two weeks for somebody living off campus. These little bits help.

That’s why I went into education. I wanted to make a difference.