Saying Thank You and Donating with Elmer’s #BagitForward

School is back in session for public schools here in Alabama and it has been crazy in the stores! My mother and I usually start the school supply shopping as soon as the sales start and we continue all summer. I know that sounds crazy but we usually get everything we need for our own kids for less than $10 to $20 including bookbags so why keep going? We have a huge stockpile of school supplies that we give to members of our family and we donate to our community at the end of the summer and we start again the next year. This year I am super excited to be a part of Elmer’s #BagitForward campaign to either say Thank you to a great teacher or to donate school supplies to a child.  We decided to do both.

My son and I have already gathered supplies for one of his friends this year. Their house burned down so we donated part of my stockpile to them, got the little girl a new backbag, and her brother a pair of shoes. It wasn’t much considering all they lost but I know they appreciated it. So when I told Little M that we could help out again, he was super excited. We went to Walmart to go get some more supplies for our donation. The first thing we saw when we walked in was the Elmer’s 1st Day App display with the school supply lists on it.

It was so easy to download the App. All I did was walk up to the display and scan the QR code with my phone and it came up. The 1st Day app is a free mobile download that Elmer’s created for parents to capture those first day moments.  Teachers can also use it to show off their classrooms and materials. I took a picture of Little M and his friends on their first day of school with the app as soon as I got it. It is easy to use, organize, and share photos through the 1st Day app. You can even format and design your photos using the app to make custom keepsakes. Also, in August, you just visit the Walmart Photo Department in-store or online at Walmart.com/photoin and you can get a free 5 x 7 digital print from Walmart. That sounds awesome for those 1st Day Photos! For every photo uploaded to the 1st Day app (up to 200,000), Elmer’s will donate one product to the Kids in Need Foundation.

While we were at Walmart, I bought a big red crate for the stuff we were giving his teacher. We also shopped all the great school supply deals. It is so easy to help someone out. We got several reams of copy paper, several packs of filler paper, 8 boxes of crayons, 4 packs of markers, 4 boxes of colored pencils, several different types of Elmer’s liquid glue, Elmer’s purple washable glue, Elmer’s variety packs, Germ-x, and a few various odds and ends for less than $25. Here is just some of the things we got.

We decided to give out donation pack to a family that I know of through a local mommy group. The mother lost her job when her company went under several months ago. They were still doing well until recently when her husband started getting less hours at work and they were finding it hard to pay their mortgage. Luckily, she recently obtained a new job but I wanted to take one less worry off her mind. Her oldest son started kindergarten this year and I wanted to donate the supplies we bought to him. We even bought him a little racecars erasers and pencils set. We had an extra backbag because we got Little M’s BOGO earlier in the summer.  We filled it up (it took a lot of work on my part).

We took it over to their house yesterday. Little R. was very grateful to us. He loved his special surprise and even put his bookbag on right away!

We put the rest of the stuff we bought in the big red crate for Little M’s teacher. She is a younger teacher so I am sure she doesnt have the stockpiles that teacher’s who have been teaching awhile do.  Teachers never get the supplies they need from the school. They mostly have to buy their own. So I was very happy to be able to donate as much as we were able to for her. Little M is taking the crate tomorrow because we almost missed the bus today.  I hope his teacher loves it!

It is so easy to donate or help. Consider downloading the 1st Day app and uploading some photos. Its fun and easy and one product will be donated for every photo uploaded from Elmer’s. Also, school supplies are not that expensive. If you just picked up a few things here or there, there are usually boxes at the front doors of Walmart from Elmer’s Bag It Forward and Champions for Kids.  You can also check out Elmer’s on Facebook and Twitter to find out more great ways they give back to the community and how you can help!

 

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 and Elmer’s.  #BagItForward #CBias #SocialFabric