A year ago, Jerry Yang put his appetite on the line in the name of America’s public schools and offered to have lunch with the blogger who could mobilize the most readers to donate to the DonorsChoose 2007 Blogger Challenge. (DonorsChoose lets you play Santa by fulfilling wishlists from individual public school teachers.)

We’re upping the ante. This year's challenge is on and the victorious blogger’s favorite school will head off on a field trip valued at up to $5,000. That’s right. Five G’s. Last time I checked, that would be enough to bus, feed, and admit my son’s entire elementary school to the fabulous new California Academy of Sciences.

To support your favorite blogger (and there are more than 150 participating so far), head over here and fund things like kits for studying bugs, musical white boards, digital cameras, books about Appalachian culture, and classical CDs. You’ll find heavy-hitters like TechCrunch, Engadget, Craigslist's Craig Newmark, Fred Wilson, Kara Swisher, Robert Scoble, and of course, Sarah Bunting of TomatoNation, whose readers raised more than $100,000 last year. This year, if readers fund all of the classroom projects on her giving page, Sarah will do a full-fledged tour of Washington, D.C. monuments dressed as a tomato. White House and all. Well, I’m sure she’ll at least make it to the fence.

Here’s the stuff our lawyers want us to add. We’ll trust DonorsChoose to let us know which blogger succeeded in getting the most people to donate. The blogger will then choose a school that gets a field trip. We’ll pay for it, but they will need to arrange logistics with the school. The maximum for the field trip is $5,000, and we’ll be able to pay up to three vendors (e.g. the museum, transportation, and food).

With that out of the way, it’s time to vote with your wallet -- whether you’re inspired by a traveling vegetable, getting a personal thank you note scribbled in crayon, or just plain making a kid’s day.

UPDATE: This just in! Having enjoyed the spirited competition it elicited last year, Jerry has once again agreed to offer a grand prize of lunch with the blogger who inspired the most readers to donate to the challenge. He's hungry, so bring it on!

Nicki Dugan
Blog Editor