Is Your Public School System Lacking School Supplies?

If your answer was YES, then what are you going to do to help the situation? I am participating in the  Bag it Forward Champions for Kids Simple Service Project. If you’d like to see what I’ve done so far you can read my previous blog post “Bag It Forward! Your School System Needs You”. Crayons2Calculators is the organization that I chose to contribute school supplies to and it’s a local Durham, North Carolina Teacher Warehouse Corporation. The Mission of Crayons2Caclulators is to aim to serve the educational and creative needs of students in the Durham Public School system by providing free school supplies to classroom teachers. The Supplies that are donated help teachers tremendously and allows them to be more effective and efficient in their quest to educate the next generation. Teachers report that they spend on average in between $500 to $1000 out of their own pockets to supply their classrooms each year, and 75% say that a lack of supplies hinders their ability to implement their desired lessons. ** Partial Mission Information taken from The Crayons2Calculators website

I participated in the Champions For Kids Bag it Forward Simple Service Project by going to my local Walmart Supercenter and purchasing school supplies that were the top ten most needed items on the Crayons2Calculators wish list. I purchased bottles of Elmer’s glue, crayons, folders, Elmer’s glue sticks, index cards, markers, pencils, rulers, scissors and spiral notebooks all to be donated to Crayons2Calculators. What I learned from Crayons2Calculators is that “Durham, N.C. classrooms are under-equipped. Durham is a city grappling with poverty and inequality. Sixty percent of students in the Durham Public Schools qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch, which means they live at or near the poverty level. Teachers often depend on parents to bring in supplies, but in a high poverty school, parents are struggling to make ends meet and cannot help. Teachers simply do not have the tools they need to do their difficult job.” Knowing that piece of information makes we want to bring awareness to people in my community and nationally because this is a nationwide issue. It’s great to have a local nonprofit organization that provides school supplies to the Durham public school teachers for free.

I am “mommy” to four children that attend Durham Public Schools and it gives me piece of mind to know that children will be able to work with the tools they need to succeed in their education. After all, they are the future and should have the resources needed and an equal opportunity like other children that may not be in low income schools or poverty stricken communities. I’m glad that my donation is going to an organization that is supplying kids that really need it and continuously working throughout the year to provide school supplies to Durham teachers for free! I also need to recognize the Rotary clubs that have been contributing to communities all over for many years and has played a huge role in the Crayons2Calculators Durham community school supply drives. It was a great opportunity and learning experience to see what Champions for Kids does and stands for along with Elmer’s Bag It Forward. If you’d like to view my entire journey through pictures feel free to check out my Bag It Forward Champions For Kids Google+ album. For more information you can visit Champions for Kids website also “Like” Elmer’s and Champions For Kids on Facebook to stay in the know.

Disclosure: “I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids. #BagItForward #Champions4Kids #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are solely my own.

Bag it Forward! Your School System Needs You

I am pleased to be participating in the Bag it Forward Champions for Kids Simple Service Project. As a mom of four children I know how expensive it can be to purchase school supplies. I get four separate school supply lists every year of what’s needed in the class room and it all definitely adds up. The public school system where I reside in NC had budget cuts and was in need of school supplies and relied heavily on donations from parents within the community and local organizations to help support the students and make it a progressive school year with much needed supplies. I remember two years ago my daughter wasn’t bringing home assignments because the text books weren’t allowed to leave school property and they were short on reams of printing paper so they couldn’t send home assignments. I was shocked! Why doesn’t an elementary school have enough paper to print homework assignments for children and why can’t text books leave school property? The answer was budget cuts; they hadn’t gotten new text books in years and didn’t want the ones they were holding on to damaged further because they didn’t know when new text books would be in the works. The reality is that we go through this every year! Teachers dip into their own pockets to purchase quality school supplies for their students and on basic classroom necessities.

I did some research on local organizations that I could donate school supplies to and the one that really jumped out at me was Crayons 2 Calculators. It supports Durham Public Schools Teachers & Students. I did some research on their website and then saw that there were local school supply drives going on within the community to support them and immediately wanted to know what was needed. I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity to Bag It Forward! I always buy what’s needed when school supply shopping I don’t want to just pick up random products. I want them to be used, so I acquired a list of the most needed items. I made a date with Walmart and left my kiddos at home! I stay sane shopping without four kids in the background. I know I’m NOT the only one! Immediately upon entering Walmart I saw the Elmer’s School Supply List Holders & the Champions for Kids Signage and donation boxes at each entrance. My shopping experience was great because all the school supplies are in one designated area and I love convenience. I didn’t have to go 10 aisles down to find a different item on the school supply list. It gets a little confusing when you are looking for items by name brand and they are all mixed up. I think that most name brands should be together even if multiple products are displayed depending upon the niche.

Walmart had great deals on the back to school items and I was content with my purchase. I had a flawless checkout experience and the cashier was friendly and chatted with me while scanning my items. I highly urge you to check out Champions for Kids and help make a difference in your community. You can follow Champion for Kids on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with information. It’s great that Elmer’s is a Sponsor and in support of this back to school movement “Like” Elmer’s on Facebook and follow @Elmers on Twitter to stay informed. They’re social! Stay Tuned for part two of this story… There’s definitely more to come!

To view more pictures of my entire experience feel free to check out my Google+ Album.

Disclosure: “I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids. #BagItForward #Champions4Kids #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are solely my own.

error: Ask And You Shall Receive!!