Back to school shopping and teacher donations.
Thanks to our new semi-year-round schedule, I head back to work in a couple of weeks. [And I'll do my standard disclaimer: yeah, we go back very, very early compared to the rest of the country... but then we also get out nearly a month earlier than everyone else. Personally, I *love* the schedule! But I also get tons of "omg you're already going back!?!" comments every summer, and they drive me crazy. ;) This time I figured I'd just head 'em off and put that up front!]
I teach in a low-income school, and our budgets keep dwindling to ridiculous levels. Over the past few summers, I've done little projects offering something in exchange for school supply donations, and my friends here on LJ have been amazing! (Love y'all!) This year, I think I'm all set and can get most of what I need through the school or buy it myself on sale. But since some friends have already asked, I thought I'd throw this out there for any of you who are interested in helping the schools and teachers in your community.
Even when you don't have kids, shopping for school supplies can be FUN! Many of us were lucky to grow up in schools that provided everything we needed, but there are so many communities that don't have nearly enough -- and these days, some of those low-income schools are in neighborhoods you wouldn't expect, thanks to the economy and foreclosures. So, if any of you do enjoy shopping, perhaps you could see if any of the schools in your area need supplies? (Particularly middle and high schools, since they don't always get as much attention as the cute little kids. *g*) Schools are usually thrilled with whatever you can spare, even just those folders that Office Max sells at ten for a dollar.
Here are a few suggestions, and please feel free to add any others in the comments! I certainly can't speak for all teachers worldwide, but I like to think I've got a pretty good idea after thirteen years of teaching. ;)
Obviously, giving is a personal thing, and I'm not about to tell people what they should or shouldn't do. But in past years, I've been SO fortunate to have amazing LJ friends helping me out, and I thought I'd try to spread the good vibes this year. If you have any questions about these tips, feel free to ask!
I teach in a low-income school, and our budgets keep dwindling to ridiculous levels. Over the past few summers, I've done little projects offering something in exchange for school supply donations, and my friends here on LJ have been amazing! (Love y'all!) This year, I think I'm all set and can get most of what I need through the school or buy it myself on sale. But since some friends have already asked, I thought I'd throw this out there for any of you who are interested in helping the schools and teachers in your community.
Even when you don't have kids, shopping for school supplies can be FUN! Many of us were lucky to grow up in schools that provided everything we needed, but there are so many communities that don't have nearly enough -- and these days, some of those low-income schools are in neighborhoods you wouldn't expect, thanks to the economy and foreclosures. So, if any of you do enjoy shopping, perhaps you could see if any of the schools in your area need supplies? (Particularly middle and high schools, since they don't always get as much attention as the cute little kids. *g*) Schools are usually thrilled with whatever you can spare, even just those folders that Office Max sells at ten for a dollar.
Here are a few suggestions, and please feel free to add any others in the comments! I certainly can't speak for all teachers worldwide, but I like to think I've got a pretty good idea after thirteen years of teaching. ;)
- Check your city newspaper's website for any school supply drives. Call the school board and ask if there are any low-income schools in the district that would welcome item donations (though that could get complicated, depending on policies). Even if you're not religious, many congregations also either accept donations for members or would know of places where the need is greatest. Or heck, if you're bold, just put together a few things and walk over to your local school! As I mentioned above, even schools in "wealthy" neighborhoods often have families that are struggling in this economy. (Plus, thanks to NCLB and school choice -- sigh -- a Title 1 school could be surrounded by fancy new subdivisions, like the one where I teach.) And for more formal donations, Donors Choose is also a good organization, though I tend to prefer giving directly to schools since a *huge* portion of the DC donations goes toward overhead.
- Watch the back-to-school shopping ads next month. Office supply stores like Staples usually have great deals to get shoppers in the door. Many of the basics are less than a dollar, like packs of notebook paper for $.50. For ten bucks, you can get more pencils/paper/markers/binders than you could carry. And I looooooove the dollar bins at Target for cute teacher-y stuff. If you go that route, it's probably best to choose their great stickers and pencils, rather than the decorations and teacher plan books and such. We all have our own styles in how to decorate our rooms, and we tend to prefer choosing those things on our own.
- It doesn't have to be brand-new. :) We tend to think of "school supplies" as those cute, colorful things with pictures of cats or racecars, but they're pretty much the same thing as you'd find in your cubicle. Younger kids, especially in low-income schools, don't care if a binder has a company logo on it. If you have old pens or manila file folders or binders in your office, someone could probably use them. I can't speak for everyone, but I'd be happy to use those notebooks to organize all the paperwork piled on my desk or in my cabinet!
- If you want to donate things for teachers to use in classrooms, craft supplies are often a good bet because they eat up our own supply budgets and get used up really fast, especially in middle schools where we like to do projects but often have our budget resources channeled toward other supplies. Younger kids like those stickers that Target currently has in its dollar bins. If you see something cute, chances are a teacher would like it, but it's often best to stick with basics like construction paper, markers, and scissors. Sometimes schools will provide teacher "wish lists", and I think there are websites that post them but I can't remember any URLs right now.
- And then there are things like Purell or Kleenex. My students often show up on the first day of school with all the usual school supplies, but we almost never get boxes of tissue or sanitizer because it's all the parents can do to afford just the basics. Schools seldom give those to teachers, so by winter we're either buying them ourselves or having kids wipe their noses on rolls of toilet paper that we get from the custodians. ;)
Obviously, giving is a personal thing, and I'm not about to tell people what they should or shouldn't do. But in past years, I've been SO fortunate to have amazing LJ friends helping me out, and I thought I'd try to spread the good vibes this year. If you have any questions about these tips, feel free to ask!