Supplies have helped teachers and their students start the school year with success

[Orlando, FL] October 05, 2021 – A Gift for Teaching’s annual Back-to-School Drive, Central Florida’s largest school supply drive, once again achieved high marks at the top of its class. In addition to physical school supply donations, more than $127,000 was raised by generous companies and supporters in the community to help local students feel excited and prepared to be back IN school this year.

“The first day of school has always called for big celebration, this year more than ever. But with families in our community still struggling to recover from the pandemic, thousands of children arrived at school with nothing in their hands to be excited about,” shares Jane Thompson, President of A Gift for Teaching. “Because of every dollar and school supply donated to the Back-to-School Drive, we are able to help these students begin the year equipped to learn with essential educational tools to safely call their own.”

A Gift for Teaching’s Back-to-School season began in June with its community giveback project “The Great Big Backpack Build,” presented by the Walt Disney World Resort. 15,000 brand-new backpacks with supplies were funded by project supporters, safely packed by more than 230 volunteers, and delivered to more than 130 high-need public schools in Orange and Osceola Counties.

Starting in July, more than 60 business and individual teams joined A Gift for Teaching and its Back-to-School season partners, the Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Foundation, to raise funds and collect supplies to outfit students with the necessary tools to start the new school year with success.

On August 26^th, WKMG News 6 viewers, along with Todd Miner Law, raised more than $46,000 during the Back-to-School Drive Telethon, unlocking an additional $25,000 in a matching funders’ challenge. These funds allow A Gift for Teaching to keep the shelves stocked with free educational resources that empower teachers to inspire future leaders.

After calculating final donations in September, A Gift for Teaching was excited to present the overall 2021 Top 5 Supply Drives: AdventHealth, Walt Disney World Resort, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Todd Miner Law, and Old Navy Orlando. In its success, the Back-to-School Drive provides one-third of the annual distribution of supplies to teachers for their students who need them most.

As Central Florida’s primary provider of free school supplies, A Gift for Teaching is open throughout the entire school year for eligible teachers to shop and distributes more than $66,700 worth of supplies back into classrooms for students each day. Teacher shopping eligibility and information can be found at AGiftForTeaching.org/teachers.