Supporting Our Schools Donation Drive Helping Local Teachers and Classrooms

The first day of school may be weeks away, but right now students and teachers are struggling to prepare. On average, teachers spend more than $450 a year out of their own pockets to stock their classrooms with necessary supplies. Many school children and families in North Texas start the school year at a disadvantage, without the common items needed to learn.

This July, NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 are Supporting Our Schools. All month long you can donate $10 at any Albertsons or Tom Thumb store to purchase school supplies and backpacks for local students served by two wonderful charities, Communities in Schools and the Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities.

The mission of Communities in Schools (CIS) is to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. One of the most important things CIS does is place caring adults in the lives of students. All year round they encourage and remind students of the end goal – graduation. They equip them with the skills and resources they need to be successful both in and out of the classroom, and empower them to not be defined by their situation at that current moment.

Every August, in partnership with the Dallas Independent School District, Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities host the Back to School Event that has grown from supporting hundreds of families to 7,000 families. The Back to School Event started as a uniform program. It was created after two Dallas ISD students wrote to Pat & Emmitt Smith asking them to match $300 they earned by doing summer chores so they could buy uniforms for classmates after noticing their uniforms and shoes were worn and tattered. Today, this program serves seven local high need schools and incorporates dental screenings, vision screenings, book distribution, hair styling, lunch, fresh fruits and vegetables for the students, games, arts and crafts and now, with your help through Supporting Our Schools, the event will be able to provide backpacks and schools supplies for the students.

Last year, with your generous donations, we were able to purchase school supplies for more than 25,000 local students and this year we hope to help many more. Won’t you help us again and get the school supplies and materials our students need to succeed?

Please visit any Albertsons or Tom Thumb through July 28 and donate $10 when you check out with your groceries. It’s that easy to help a local student get the much needed schools supplies he or she will need to start school.

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