Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, wrote today about an opportunity for American Express cardholders to vote in a charity poll to donate $1.5 million to help pay for education & book costs for 100,000 U.S. schoolchildren.

Ferriss—who is one of my two top information sources for travel, technology, and all-around awesome tips (the other is Lifehacker)—is a master at cutting out information overload and spends much of his time traveling, yet somehow manages to keep his finger firmly to the pulse of important social issues. I know it can be such a faux pas to send mass emails to friends and business colleagues, but Tim is frequently on top of important time-sensitive causes that need a little help to go viral (this is the second one I deemed important enough to forward to my network; the first was about the recent FISA Bill).

This is from Tim Ferriss’ blog today. Unfortunately, I don’t have an AMEX, so I’m passing it on to you guys to carry the torch! See below for details:

One click here today can give 100,000 students $1.5 million for education. No joke and no exaggeration. Take a second and earn some karma!

There are less than 7 hours left to help 100,000 public school students get $1.5 million dollars in much-needed funding for their educations. A single click here is all I ask of you, and I sweeten the pot with a bribe below…

First, from the woman who convinced me to put up this post:

“Where you grow up shouldn’t determine the quality of the education you receive. To help level the playing field, I propose giving 100,000 children in low-income communities the books, technology, and other materials that they need for a proper education.”

The non-profit Donorschoose (who appear on the dedication page of 4HWW) only need 3,000-4,000 more votes to reach first place and receive $1.5 million dollars from American Express. As few as 500 more votes could lock them in for $500,000 (that means each vote is worth $1,000).

Earn some serious good karma and use this as your moment of Zen today.

You can make a difference in 100,000 lives with the click of a button. Please take these three simple steps to move from spectator to player in creating the world you want:

Vote here. If you don’t have an American Express Card, please forward this post to a friend and ask them to vote on your behalf.

If you use social media sites, help Digg & Stumble Tim Ferriss’ post up, or send a message to your friends via Twitter, Myspace, or Facebook. Let’s help them get at least 500 votes before midnight EST tonight to donate to 100,000 schoolkids.

Tim has also attached a little bribe for those who help spread the news and respond to his blog post. If I’m selected and get a chance to speak with Tim, perhaps he will agree to help me start off the new interview podcast series I’m planning in collaboration with Entreprini.com. I’d love to use the time to ask him a few questions from the readers and see what thoughts he has about entrepreneurship and lifestyle design specifically for college students and twentysomething professionals. There was trouble with the comment submission form on the 4HWW blog, so here’s my answer to Tim’s question about the most important teacher in my life:

The teacher who has been most influential on my life was my high school French professor, Alec Hodgins. I was in his classes 3 out of 4 years and became pretty close. His teaching helped give me an appreciation for a foreign culture that much of our country is afraid of for some reason. He was an early source of great world music, literature, and life philosophy, and also provided a great deal of travel inspiration for me, just as you have. I was lucky enough to have my first trip abroad on one of his class trips—spending a week with a host family in Cannes and a few days in Paris with classmates. The travel seed was sown! My interest in Thailand was first stoked when he shared about his experience taking his family there for an extended vacation. That interest was reinforced by your advice about geo-arbitrage, the positive experiences of dozens of other friends, and now I’m making it real and going to live abroad in Southeast Asia for the year ahead!

[source: Deadline in Less Than 7 Hours - An Important Bribe (Plus: Happiness Research for Economic Crashes) - The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss]