Donating Champions for Kids Elmer's Bag It Forward School Supplies

Having the opportunity to help a teacher and kids in my own community makes me happier than I can explain. I have always admired teachers for what they do and elementary school was a magical time for me. I loved school for the reading, writing, art and projects. I have read statistic and news articles about the cut backs to schools and how teachers are paying out of their own paychecks for supplies. I remember when I was kid it seemed there were limitless supplies or my teachers made it be that way for us kids. Most teachers love what they do and provide what the kids need, not asking for help. That is why I am so happy Champions for Kids teams up with Elmer's to inspire people all over America to Bag It Forward.

My son and I went shopping at our local Walmart for Elmer's products and other back to school supplies. We found a Elmer's display that had lists of items needed for back to school for each grade. I grabbed a 2nd grade list since I wanted to donate to a local 2nd grade class in my neighborhood. For me 2nd grade was great! I had a fun teacher and there was lots of reading. I have always loved books! We even went to a school for a year that had a huge ship in the middle of the school where kids could take a book on board to read. It was a cozy ship made from like squishy matting, I wish I had a picture of it. It was the coolest thing I have seen at a school! We lived in WA at the time,  rain and snow up there makes for a need to have cool indoor stuff like the Reading Ship.

I have always assumed that I alone was not enough to impact the life of anyone. That just one person doing something was not enough (I was so wrong!). Through taking part of the Champions for Kids Simple Service Projects I have realized that if I am one of the people doing a project that we all add up to millions! Even as a budget savvy Mom I still can donate. Shopping at Walmart we were able to find great prices on back to school supplies. We spent almost $26 and got 46 items to donate! I was so happy to be able to give that much stuff to a teacher and her students.

I selected a local elementary school Lichen Elementary to take my donation to. This is a school in my neighborhood where the kids play at the park my son does and as parents we all shop at the same local stores. I wanted to help kids that I may not know but are a part of my community. My son is not old enough for school, to me he is still a baby! :) He sure did love being on the school campus though. He was telling me over and over "Mama, Kids!!" He waved to people, pointed out to me posters and the characters he saw on back packs. He was super excited to be there!

My son was running all over her classroom he was so excited. He grabbed a book and climbed into the reading area too.

We were so excited to meet the 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Rhodes. We took the giant bag a supplies with all the Elmer's glue products and other supplies to her classroom. (I still think the Elmer's purple disappearing glue is so cool!) Mrs. Rhodes was super nice! Teachers do a tough job and there a many kids in her class that she is responsible for shaping into the future adults of our world.  I hope our donation lets her know the community is behind her and we appreciate all she does for our neighborhood kids. She was very thankful for our donation and super sweet to my son. My little guy even shook her hand when we met her. (I have taught him to be a little gentleman and shake someones hand when first meeting them since he was 1) Too cute! I was talking to her about the statistics I read about for teachers expenses for supplies for their own classroom. She told me that yes she does spend a large amount each year for her students. I hope more families and even companies will take part in the Bag It Forward campaign to help teachers and students.

It had been over a decade since I had been in a classroom at an elementary school, since my little sister was in Kindergarten but the joy of a classroom came immediately back. I loved all the posters, books, the little desks and small touches of a teachers personality. I am hoping we will have the chance to come back to Mrs. Rhodes classroom to donate more supplies all year long. I encourage everyone to give back to the community you live in through the Bag It Forward Simple Service Project from Champions for Kids. The teachers and the kids will be grateful for it.

You can read my first blog post about the Champions for Kids Elmer's Bag It Forward project to see the low prices and variety of supplies we purchased for our donation here. #BagItForward #Champions4Kids

You can read my Google+ story for ideas on what to buy for your Elmer's Bag It Forward donation.

To learn more about Champions for Kids you can follow them on twitter and facebook. 

For great ideas on items to donate from Elmer's you can follow them on twitter and facebook.

*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 All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Help Teachers and Children with Elmer's Bag It Forward Back to School Supplies

I have always loved the beginning of the school year. It was a fresh start with so much to look forward to learning. New teachers, new students and new back to school items were wonderful. For many families back to school can also be stressful due to the cost of getting kids ready for the new school year. I want to make difference in the lives of kids in my area. Helping with back to school supplies is a simple and great way to help out.

My son is not yet in school but I still feel the need to help out other children for this exciting time of year. I have worked with a wonderful charity Champions for Kids in the past and was thrilled to learn they were having a Elmer's Bag It Forward campaign as the Simple Service Project for the month of August. There is still plenty of time to make a donation. Champions for Kids has many great ideas on how anyone can help. As an individual or as a group. You can host a back to school neighborhood party where you asks your guest to bring school supplies to add to the big donation. You can have a school supply drive at your work or church. You can also shop with your own family to gather supplies at the store to donate.

My son and I shopped at Walmart for our donation since I knew it would be a great store to find low prices. You can give your donation to a local teacher, charity or food bank. Many food banks will be able to make sure your donation goes to kids who need the items. We are planning to donate our items to a local elementary school teacher.

Many of the items at Walmart were $0.50 or $1 like this Elmer's Glue.

If you are unsure of what to buy for back to school supplies look inside your local Walmart. They have a big Elmer's display that contains lists by grade for the items needed. If your shopping for your own kids too it would be a great time to show them how they can help select a few items for other kids.

I have selected the elementary school since its in my own neighborhood. I picked a second grade teacher since my second grade teacher was awesome and so was the school I went to at that time. We drive by the school all the time on the way to the park and store. The kids that go to that school are the same ones that play at the park my son goes to, the parents are the ones who shop at the local stores we do. It feels awesome to be able to help a teacher and her students that are a part of my own neighborhood. There have been cut backs in the school district in our area. Teachers often have a large out of pocket expense to make up for the lack of supplies and I feel great knowing we will do our part to help. Since we shopped in the local Walmart in our neighborhood about 10 minutes from the school we were able to get 47 items for $26! That is a lot of supplies that will be used by kids that live near by.

 If you do not know of a charity or school in need but would still like to donate you can look in your local Walmart in the back to school area or near the check out lines for the Champions for Kids Elmer's Bag It Forward donation box. Its an easy way to be able to help local kids.

Anyone can participate in a Simple Service Project from Champions for Kids. Its a great way to get your family, friends and kids excited about back to school by helping out other kids with a Elmer's Bag It Forward donation. #BagItForward #Champions4Kids

You can read my Google+ story for ideas on what to buy for your Elmer's Bag It Forward donation.

My son had a blast helping me shop and organize the items we plan to donate.

Some info from the Champions for Kids site about the Elmer's Bag It Forward campaign: 

Did You Know?

• Teachers spend an average of $356 out-of-pocket on quality school supplies every single year. Many
spend up to $1500 just to provide basic classroom necessities.

• More than 31 million students from low-income families receive free or reduced-price school
lunches. Their parents often find it challenging to buy project boards, scissors, paper and glue. It’s
been proven that having quality supplies is important to building a child’s confidence and self-esteem
which, in turn, supports educational accomplishments.

*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 All opinions expressed in this post are my own.