This past week I was one of 50 bloggers chosen to participate in Elmer’s #Bagitforward campaign to help students and classrooms around the country by providing them with school supplies and things that are needed. Because my sister-in-law is a teacher, I immediately thought of her and helping the school that she is in. And through this project, I was able to purchase all of this for her classroom…

She was so excited -and so grateful- that I asked if she could share with everyone what it meant to her… and what it means to so many other teachers that will be receiving these supplies before the school year starts.

Pencils, pens, paper, glue, tape, crayons, markers.  The list of school supplies needed for a 9-month period is endless.  And unfortunately, the budgets to buy them keep getting smaller and smaller.  This next year, for example, I will have a class of approximately 26 students and less than $200 to buy the things we need.  Because I am a teacher in a public school, those things must be provided by the school.  We can suggest the things that students come to school with, but we must have items ready for each of them if their families can’t provide them.  And because we are a Title I school, many families can’t provide them.  School budgets aren’t the only ones dwindling these days.  And if I can’t get the things we need on my school budget, they come out of my personal budget, which is something that every single teacher I know has done many times over the past years.

Therefore, I was so excited when my sister-in-law told me about this program that Elmer’s was doing that involved donating money to buy school supplies for kids and teachers that need them.  The things that Julie was able to purchase will make a real difference in my classroom and help my students to be able to succeed.  They mean that I won’t have to ask students to provide as many things on their own, plus I will know that when we do a project or assignment, every child will have the items they need to complete it, making learning a little easier for us all.

~Lori, 3rd grade teacher

Imagine the difference you could make in the lives of teachers — or even for students in our classrooms — if each family, provided they could afford it, would donate $10 of school supplies for the teacher to use with their children’s classmates. I know that in many schools it would make a HUGE difference. I think the impact in the lives of kids and teachers would be amazing!

Want to know how else you can help???

The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward is charity blog meme, bloggers are able to raise $10 per blog post for Adopt-A-Classroom by writing a blog post and donating a virtual bag of school supplies . Elmer’s will donate $10 per each post written to Adopt-A-Classroom, up to $10,000.

HOW CAN YOU JOIN? It’s easy.

• Participate in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward and by giving away a virtual bag of school supplies and creating a blog post with specific rules described below.
• Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom.
• You can give as many virtual bags as you want.
• The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 12 PM EST on August 12, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted.
• The blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.
• In addition copy and paste the following text into your blog post:

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES

• Copy and paste these rules into your blog post.
• Create a blog post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
• Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
• Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
• Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
• Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by August 12, 2010).
• Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

I’m donating a virtual bag of school supplies to Ms. Random’s Ramblings, and challenging her to Bag it Forward with Elmer’s!

Please consider participating in this — and if you do (even though I did not give you a virtual bag of school supplies) — leave me a comment so that I can come by and thank you personally!

Disclaimer: I was compensated for my participation in the Bag It Forward campaign by Elmer’s and Collective Bias.