a day made betterThis year marks the seventh anniversary of A Day Made Better, a collaboration between OfficeMax and AdoptAClassroom.org. OfficeMax believes teachers should not have to buy their own school supplies, so this initiative gives several teachers $1,000 in school supplies each year. Let’s take a closer look at the A Day Made Better campaign.

Filling the Need for School Supplies

OfficeMax and AdoptAClassroom.org both believe strongly in the need for good classroom materials for the education of children. Celebrity spokespeople weigh in on A Day Made Better’s video. Stars like Debi Mazar, Selena Gomez, and James Denton all briefly explain how important their favorite teachers were to their own development.

The problem? According to OfficeMax, teachers are spending on average $1,000 out of pocket per year on school supplies for their classrooms. For educators who make an average of $30,000 per year, that thousand is no small chunk of change.

Erasing Teacher-Funded Classrooms

OfficeMax’s A Day Made Better will surprise over 1,000 classrooms with $1,000 in school supplies. The campaign works on a number of levels. OfficeMax is working to raise awareness of an issue that most people have probably never considered a problem before, by doing a good deed. Campaigns like these are also excellent PR for the brand, so consumers know that the money they spend on supplies at OfficeMax will, in part, go to a good cause.

OfficeMax does not ask for any donations to their company for the one-day event. Their call to action is simple: you can adopt a classroom in need of supplies through the Adopt-A-Classroom website, and 100% of your donation goes directly to the teacher, to be allocated to resources for the classroom and students. Donors will receive feedback from the teacher and students, as well as reports on how the funds are being used – and their impact on the classroom.

Other suggestions involve helping students and teachers with donations of school supplies through their Get Involved page. By buying OfficeMax products, this company says, you are doing a good deed. This year’s A Day Made Better event will fall on October 1st – just a few weeks away.

Visit www.adoptaclassroom.org to get involved!