buy CRAYONS for Valentine's Day!

You probably read the heading and said, “What?! Crayons for Valentine’s Day? Thanks, but no thanks!”

Well, wait a second. Hear us out.

We’re not suggesting that you send your honey crayons. We’re not that loopy. What we are saying is take the $100 you would spend on a dozen roses and send crayons, paper, copies of Jane Eyre, whatever, to kids in your sweetheart’s home state. Maybe even kids in the school your schnookums graduated from. When your darling sees how much joy you have spread in their name, you will get a reward. We practically guarantee it.

So, see what stuff the kids need for school, buy some and then sit back and wait for the love to wash over you.

It’s as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Pick a classroom: www.SupplyourSchools.org
2. Buy some supplies
3. Put your sweetie’s down as the Honoree

The love of your life will get thank you notes like these and love you even more for it:

Thank you for the rulers. Now we can measure all types of things like books and shoes. It just was a good idea.”

Thank you so much for the notebook paper for our classroom! We are so thankful for your generous donation. This will be a great help to us as we are preparing for our state writing tests! Mrs. M's Class

Dear Sir and Lady, We are so happy for the supplies you sent us. We only had one pencil left in our writing center. Thank you.

Dearest Donor, On behalf of myself and my students, I can't begin to thank you enough for the wonderful surprise I received today. And, such great timing too! Today we actually ran out of the many pencils I had purchased for my students. I was sure that I had at least 30 at the beginning of this week alone. I can't wait to show my kids all of the goodies they've received and look forward to them sharing their thankfulness with you. Much thanks and appreciation for everything!! Have a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season!! Ms. K

Dear person who gave us things. Thank you so much for the erasers, pencils, and markers. We really needed the pencils very bad.

Put a smile on someone’s face today.

Thank you for the big crayons that aren't broken.

In Northern Virginia, where my family and I live, parents of school kids pay extra for pencils, bags, markers, notebooks, etc. that have Spiderman, Dora or what ever the "in" licensed character is.

In many other parts of the country, children are just happy to have "crayons that are not broken." That's what an elementary school student in Ohio said when Supply Our Schools sent her classroom some new crayons. It really puts our lives in perspective.

If you want to give kids crayons that are not broken, find a classroom and buy some supplies now.

Our mention in Edutopia.org

Over the summer, the number of teachers who registered with Supply Our Schools has skyrocketed.

While looking through the site statistics, I saw that Edutopia.org mentioned us in an article about getting free school supplies.

Thank you, Edutopia for getting the word out!

Tips from a teacher

One of our teachers has had great success in getting donors to buy items for her classroom. I asked her to share her tips for success. She has very generously shared her advice:

From Ms Borg, Middle School Science Teacher, Massachusetts

My success on www.supplyourschools.org is a simple story. Once I registered, I told three people I knew well in our administration building. I knew they had connections with more people district- wide than I did. After I received my first shipment, SOS sent me an email that I could forward to friends and family. I added a personal note about the supplies I had already received and sent it to everyone I knew. Since then, it has been word of mouth. I tell people, "Guess what I did today!" I have helped two teachers register and walked other curious friends through the website. They are amazed by the response. Several friends have said they will shop through the website and my email has crossed at least five states that I know of and is still going.

I opened two boxes at school this week. Every time I open an email from SOS that says I have another shipment coming, I cry. When one of the administrative assistants saw all the supplies I had received from an anonymous donor, she immediately sent off a mass email to all the staff in the building. We have had an SOS explosion in Worcester, MA. Now, I am reaching out to my contacts on Facebook.

I think the most important thing I did was to be sincere. On my homepage, I wrote about the school and the students. I think donors want to know more than just how many students you have and what subject you teach. When I talk about SOS I am passionate because that is how I am about teaching. When people can hear and feel your emotions in your writing and your voice they will respond.

My students arrive on September 3. I am excited to show them all of the great things I have for them that were made possible through the support of donors. It isn't often that strangers give them things without expecting something in return.

Sometimes, it can be very frustrating as teacher, but in the end, it is all worth it.

Fundraiser on Sept 11 in Ashburn, VA

Last night, after watching Mama Mia outdoors in Bethesda, MD, my mom told me that it seemed like my whole life revolves around school supplies. Well, it does. So, without further ado, let me tell you about our next fundraising event.

SOS is having a Spirit Night on Sept 11, 4:30 to 9:00 pm at Brambleton Town Center in Ashburn, Virginia.

Johnny Rockets: 703.327.9255; present the attached flyer (/SOS%20Spirit%20Night%20Sept%2011.pdf) to the cashier and 10% of your purchase will be given to Supply Our Schools

Color me Mine: 703-957-4020; mention Supply Our Schools to the cashier and 15% of your purchase will be given to us!

As always, 100% of the money given to SOS will be used to buy school supplies.

Please forward this information to your friends in Ashburn, Virginia.

Thanks!

Radhika