Making Back to School Better

Making Back to School Better

In school districts across the U.S., “back to school" looks different this year. Some schools have gone virtual, while others are meeting in person with numerous safety protocols, and many families are dealing with financial hardships from the COVID-19 pandemic. This year it's more important than ever for us to Grow the Good for education, which is one of Albemarle Foundation's giving priorities. Find out how our employees and Albemarle Foundation are making back to school a better experience for students this year!

How our employees are making back to school better:

Donations to Schools

IN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA: Recognizing the need in their community for kids to have proper school uniforms, the local Albemarle Foundation council in Baton Rouge recently presented a $15,000 check to St. Vincent de Paul for the Uniforms for Kids program. Over the years the Council has awarded around $200,000 to the program through grants, matching gifts and volunteer grants. Uniforms for Kids distributes school uniforms to children who need them. Their goal is to help make school something children look forward to and not dread due to not having a proper uniform.

IN BAYPORT AND CLEAR LAKE, TEXAS: Fill the Bus is a community-wide school supply drive for the Pasadena Independent School District. For the past two years, the Bayport and Clear Lake Foundation Council have held a supply drive, but this year they decided to make a $2,000 donation directly to the effort, due to COVID-19. The Fill the Bus campaign raised $33,000 in cash donations and enough school supplies to fill 17 pallets. Teachers in Pasadena will be invited to collect materials from the pallet supply in order to support their classroom needs


IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: Employees have found creative ways to give back in support of Charlotte-Mecklenburg School (CMS) students. CMS started the year with remote learning, this meant that the community's need for school supplies actually increased because classrooms can no longer share materials. Through Classroom Central's virtual supply drive, our Charlotte employees raised $1,742, when matched by the foundation, this gift totaled $3,484.

Additionally, as a part of the Albemarle Foundation's $10MM educational initiative and our commitment to the CMS Foundation, the Albemarle Foundation held a matching gift campaign to raise funds for student hotspots. When school started, CMS identified 20,000 students who were without internet access. To support the cause, employees in North Carolina raised $12,095. When matched by the Foundation this totaled $24,190 equating to about 120 hotspots for students in need.

Thank you to the many employees who supported these efforts and helped students start their school year off right!

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