One of my absolutely, most satisfying things to do with my time is to give back.  And when it comes to doing something for a child or teacher, I do everything I can to make it as special for them as possible.  I don’t do it for a thank you. The smile and the total astonishment in someone doing something for them is all the reward I need.

So when I saw that a Simple Service Project was posted on the Champions for Kids website, you know I jumped right in, feet and heart alike!  They are asking that people #BagItForward with a giving back campaign with Elmer’s.  We are asked to create a school supplies kit for someone in need.  I know a LOT of people who could benefit from this and was happy to do something to give back! Especially to a teacher.  I’ll just pretend she is Mrs. Vera, my 4th grade teacher, who taught me to love myself and let it show in my work!

I headed to my Walmart that seems to be a week behind the times and prayed that the School Supplies aisles were lined and the next year’s school lists were out.  Well… true to form, they were half done.  But no forms.  Never fear, I walked over the Elmer’s display, filled up on glue products, flipped one over and scanned the QR code.

Why, you ask, did I do that?  Because I recently learned that for every photo uploaded to Elmer’s 1st Day App, Elmer’s will donate one product to The Kids in Need Foundation (KINF) (up to 200,000 products).  And, because the app is just cool!  The Elmer’s 1st Day app is a FREE mobile app that lets parents capture those memorable “1st day” photos year after year. And for teachers, it provides a unique platform to share photos of their classrooms, school projects and more with family and friends.

You can download the app super fast on your iPhone or Android or you can scan the QR code on the back of Elmer’s products and the back to school list at your fully stocked, up to date, Walmart!

Once I played around with the app, I loved it! And since every time I download a photo, I help Elmer’s donate products, I am more than happy to snap those precious photos and share them with those I love.  It will be SO cool to look back year after year and see how my kids grow!

As I wandered through my Walmart, breaking out of my daze of playing with my new app, it dawned on my how many Elmer’s products actually span the store.  From our half- done back to school display to the crafts area, office area and even coloring aisle, they are just everywhere!  I had no problem filling up the teacher’s basket.  In fact, I had to put some stuff back!

Check out my entire shop below:

 
From cool cutting scissors by X-ACTO to tons of glue sticks and school glue, I wanted to make sure that a hard working teacher that bears the burden of purchasing a lot of her supplies over the year was off to a good start!

I checked out of Walmart and headed home with my 2 loaded bags of loot.  And then I went out of town with strict instructions to the kids to not touch. Amazingly when I returned, they sat there, untouched!

So, today, having chosen my worthy teacher, Tiffany, who is not only an Honors English Teacher at the Young Men’s College Preparatory Academy in Houston, TX but also takes on the all important job of school councelor, I was ready to create my basket and take it to her!

I arrived at her home and surprised her and she was so incredibly thankful.  But not ready for photos.  So she emailed me a photo of herself with the basket a little while later when she was more “presentable”.  She gushed all over Facebook how grateful she was, posted in our neighborhood group how appreciative she was and sent me private messages of thanks.  It made me feel really good to do something for a someone who does so much for our kids.

In my opinion, teachers are always in need.  And I loved being able to do this for one.  

Take some time to #BagItForward this month and then come back and tell me all about it!  I would love to hear all of the details!

Learn more about the BagItForward.org, LIKE Elmer’s on Facebook , Follow Elmer’s on Twitter, Follow #BagItForward on Pinterest and Download the Elmer’s 1st Day App too!

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 Elmer’s #BagItForward #CBias. All writings and opinions are 100% mine. Please see my Disclaimer/ Privacy Policy for more information.