LS&Co. Partners with Teach For America this Back-to-School Season
From new supplies to the perfect first-day outfit, preparing to go back to school represents a fresh start — for both students and teachers alike. Yet this exciting time of year often puts educators in the position of having to choose between preparing their students to learn and treating themselves to some back-to-school gear. Every year in the U.S., public school teachers spend $1.6 billion of their own money on classroom supplies. We don’t want teachers to have to make this choice. To help bridge the gap, we’re teaming up with Teach For America (TFA) to support students and teachers in a variety of ways this back-to-school season:
- School supply donations. All kids need school supplies as they head back to school, but not all families can afford to buy them. Today, LS&Co. employee volunteers will fill 1,200 backpacks with needed school supplies and they will be delivered to four Bay Area schools serving low-income communities.
- LS&Co. employee volunteer activity. Our LS&Co. Water Ambassadors — employee volunteers trained to deliver a customized water conservation curriculum through our partnership with the Project WET Foundation — will teach the curriculum in classrooms here in our hometown. The Project WET Foundation provides water-resource education to promote sustainable practices and conservation. Kids will learn about saving water and maybe even teach their parents a thing or two.
- Teacher shopping experience. In today’s resource-strained environment, the last thing many teachers think about is themselves. But as back-to-school time approaches, we want to give them an opportunity to do just that. That’s why we worked with TFA to invite a group of teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area, Denver and Las Vegas to their local Levi’s® store for a back-to-school shopping experience. Each teacher will leave the store with a brand new outfit!
- Teach For America teacher discount. It’s important for teachers to look and feel their best so they can focus on what’s most important – educating their students. Current TFA teachers nationwide can craft their own new look with an exclusive 30% discount at Levi’s® mainline and outlet stores during the month of September. TFA teachers are teaching in some of our nation’s highest-need schools and are encouraged and welcome to apply their discount towards clothing that they can donate to their schools for students in need.
- Teach For America donation. LS&Co. is donating $25,000 to Teach For America to further its work to expand educational opportunity for students in low-income communities.
Giving back to the community has been part of LS&Co.’s approach to business since the company started in 1853, and some of Levi Strauss’ earliest community donations were in support of young children and education. Our product and backpack donation honors the company founder’s commitment to youth and learning, and furthers LS&Co.’s efforts to give back to the community where it operates.
To learn more about Teach For America and how you can get involved, visit https://www.teachforamerica.org/get-involved.
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