Giving Kids The Tools To Learn: Foundation Celebrates 10 Years of Providing Free School Supplies

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Giving Kids The Tools To Learn: Foundation Celebrates 10 Years of Providing Free School Supplies

More Than A Million Students Helped By Foundation And Its Partners

DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitting in the back of his class, Cordell rarely bothered to fill out his first grade math worksheets. His teacher overheard him say, "If I had an eraser maybe I could do this."Having just picked up a pack of erasers at A Gift For Teaching, the Orlando member of the Kids In Need National Network, she gave one to Cordell. Cordell had not done his work because he was afraid of making mistakes. After receiving free school supplies, he became more engaged in class and turned in his work regularly. See http://www.kidsinneed.net/.

The Kids In Need Foundation of SHOPA (the School, Home and Office Products Association), is a national non-profit celebrating its 10th anniversary, which helps make a difference for children like Cordell through its 21 Resource Centers which provide free school supplies to children and teachers in low income schools.

The Foundation has distributed over $150 million in donations during the past 10 years. Additionally, the foundation provides K-12 educators with funding to provide innovative learning opportunities for students through its Kids In Need Teacher Grant Program.

"The efforts of the SHOPA Kids In Need Foundation during the past ten years are truly making a difference in our schools," says Dr. Frank Till, superintendent of Broward County School District in Florida, the sixth largest school district in the United States. "Through the Foundation's efforts, at- risk students are better prepared with basic supplies, which can ultimately mitigate those risks typically associated with children in poverty.

"Giving children the tools to learn enables them to believe in themselves, believe that their teachers care for them, and gives them an advantage to take the steps to succeed."

Pat Chamberlain, a sixth grade teacher in Cincinnati, shops at the local Kids In Need Resource Center called Crayons to Computers. "I used to spend almost $1,300 a year on everything from pencils, to paint, to glitter. Being able to shop for free has made my job easier. My students enjoy being able to stay organized with the tools I can get at the center, and I love being able to give them that advantage."

Now in its tenth year, the SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation has distributed more than $150 million in school supplies, directly benefiting 1.1 million students and 65,000 teachers annually.

For more information visit http//www.kidsinneed.net.

Source: SHOPA