Know someone deserving of school supplies? Bag It Forward!
School is officially back in session in our area, as well as many areas around the country. If you don’t have a student of your own, you probably knew anyway if you’ve been to pretty much any store out there. The Back to School aisles are packed with notebooks, pens, crayons, glue, and oh, yeah – lots of people!
While there are a number of people filling up backpacks this fall the sad fact is that not everyone can afford all that’s needed to have a successful school year. It’s not a new phenomenon but the current economy certainly isn’t helping the situation. After college I spent a year teaching in a rural public school district. The town and school were filled with wonderful, hard-working people, but it certainly wasn’t a wealthy group of folks. I know that I wasn’t the only teacher who purchased a few things out of her own pocket in an effort to ensure the classrooms had everything they needed.
I have participated in two previous Simple Service Projects in conjunction with Champions for Kids, so when I heard about their newest collaboration with Elmer’s that encouraged people to “Bag it Forward” by purchasing school supplies and donating them to a deserving student, teacher, or community group, I was immediately on board. Not only was I a teacher, many of my friends and family members work or have worked in education: my father was a teacher many years ago, my sister-in-law is currently student teaching to finish her degree, my uncle was a superintendent, my aunt was a teacher, my best friend and her husband work in the same school district, and my aunt-in-law is a teacher – just to name a few! Continue reading »
