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The Need

On average, every year teachers in America spend $500 or more of their own salaries on school supplies for their students, sometimes even as much as $4,000. Students cannot learn and become productive members of society without the basic essentials for learning, such as paper, pencils and other basic school supplies.

In Arizona, over half of all K-8 students cannot afford lunch, much less basic educational tools and supplies.

• Children cannot succeed when they lack the basic tools for learning.

• Our school systems have shifted the burden of providing supplies to teachers.

• On average, Arizona schools budget less than five cents per student daily for supplies.

• Businesses have huge amounts of unwanted and surplus supplies that often end up in a landfill that teachers could desperately use.

Across America, a number of partnerships between community businesses and non-profit organizations are meeting this challenge to "ensure that children have the tools to learn."

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