Being an Education major in college, I have been in several elementary school classrooms. I have seen firsthand the amount of school supplies needed for a classroom of 20+ children. I also know that not all parents of these students can afford everything needed – and it can be difficult on the teacher when it comes to providing enough supplies for her classroom.
Though I don’t need to purchase school supplies because my son isn’t that age yet, I decided to help out my community this year by making school supply kits to donate to those in need. I loved shopping for school supplies when I was little, and I cannot wait until I can do it for the kiddo – but until then, I’ll just shop and make a donation!
Elmer’s understands the need for quality school supplies as well – which is why they have introduced their Bag it Forward campaign. The idea of this Simple Service Project, which are all about using simple methods for helping out in our community, is to create kits similar to what I am doing in order to donate supplies to students and schools in your community! You can check out the Champions for Kids website to see more about the Elmer’s Bag it Forward campaign.
In order to create my school supply kits, my husband and I headed to Walmart to do some back to school shopping. I didn’t take the time to prepare a shopping list – I had already decided I’d fill my kits with the most common school supplies: paper, pencils, erasers, etc. I also made sure to include Elmer’s glue – you know students will need some for all the craft projects they do!
This box was one of the first things we noticed as we walked inside the door. It’s a donation box for the Champions for Kids Simple Service Project – just like the one we were doing!
The aisles were quite busy as some of the area schools start back this week. Our city doesn’t go back to school until the beginning of September, but I knew I needed to put together my supply kits now to get the most options. Some of the aisles were already getting bare! We had to visit the seasonal area of the store as well as the office supply section in order to complete the kits.
While we were shopping, we also noticed these complete Champions for Kids school supply kits. They would make a perfect donation for the busy shopper!
Check out my Google+ album to see our full shopping trip in pictures!
Once home, I divided up all the supplies I bought and filled the pencil boxes. I almost bought too much! Thankfully, the supplies all fit into the boxes by turning and stacking them a certain way.
The kits I put together will be donated to our county’s Department of Family and Children Services. They work with families to help them get the items they need, including school supplies. I participate in their Secret Santa program almost every holiday season, purchasing Christmas gifts for a child in need. I know that by donating these school supply kits to them, they will be given to children who need them most.
Be sure to connect with Elmer’s and their #BagItForward campaign on Facebook and Twitter. You can also learn more about #Champions4Kids by connecting with them on Facebook and Twitter as well!
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids #CBias #SocialFabric
About Kecia
I’m a teacher and I love seeing kids helping out other kids! Thank you for setting a great example for your children! You rock!
What a great idea! We fill a backpack and donate during our church’s back to school drive which helps kids in our area. I will have to look for these bins next time we’re at Walmart!
This is an awesome program! Your boxes are going to make a few kids very happy.
that is such a cool idea! I love it! Our school relies on donations a lot to keep afloat, so I love seeing so many others helping out those with education when they can’t do it themselves!
The kids you give those to are going to LOVE them! That is so awesome.
Nice job! I love that your donation will help multiple kids! What a great cause!