Limeades for Learning

I am so excited to be partnering with Sonic to promote their Limeades for Learning program that helps support school projects.

SONIC Drive-In’s annual Limeades for Learning campaign, a philanthropic initiative that donates $3 million per year in support of public school teachers all over the country. For the next few months SONIC will be donating money to teacher projects posted on the Limeades for Learning website that way teachers from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon can get the school supplies and materials they need for their students.

It’s no secret that every year public school teachers are spending hundreds of their own dollars to buy supplies they need for their classrooms. SONIC saw this need and created Limeades for Learning as a way to help offset some of the teachers costs by providing funding for the supplies they need. The program is successful with the help of DonorsChoose.org, an organization dedicated to making it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. To date, SONIC has donated more than $7.5 million to public school teachers, funding more than 14,000 classroom projects and supporting more than 419,370 students.

• Teachers play a critical role is shaping the future of local communities all across the country. Yet every year, teachers spend about $500 of their own money on basic school supplies to help improve classroom experiences for their students.
• Recognizing public school teachers needed more support, SONIC Drive-In partnered with DonorsChoose.org ten years ago to come up with a solution. In 2009 SONIC launched Limeades for Learning.
• Limeades for Learning® is a national award-winning initiative to support U.S. public school teachers in local communities.
• Since the launch of SONIC’s Limeades for Learning philanthropic campaign in partnership with DonorsChoose.org, SONIC has donated $9.5 million to public school teachers nationwide to fund essential learning materials and innovative teaching resources to inspire creativity and learning in today’s youth.
• There are now three periods in which SONIC makes $1 million donations to public schools:

• 1. During the Fall Voting Campaign, which typically runs from late September through October
  2. Throughout the months of January through April during a series of surprise funding events in cities across the country – as an example, today SONIC funded 75 teacher projects from across the country in honor of National Handwriting Day
  3. Throughout the month of May during #ThanksTeach, a social media campaign encouraging consumers to thank their favorite teachers during Teacher Appreciation Month

• With the help and support of our fans, by 2021 SONIC’s total contribution to local public school classrooms will exceed $20 million.

Sonic generously sent me an identical package so that I could donate $200 to a project as well. When visiting DonorsChoose.org, you can find projects to support by searching Topics, Teachers, or Schools or by City, State, or Zip Code. There were no current projects listed for my town or area, so I spent days browsing through various projects. There are SO MANY great projects to support that it was hard to narrow it down. As a voracious reader, at first I really wanted to support a Literacy Project – I strongly believe that reading is vital to kids! I also have one child on the Autism Spectrum, so I have a connection to Special Needs projects. Another of my kids has ADHD, so the projects to allow kids alternative seating/movement in the classroom are important to support. Then I saw the Most Urgent Projects – those in Highest Economic Need, closest to finish line, or ending soon, and then I saw a section on projects whose donations are being matched, which meant my donation dollars could go further. So many great choices!!!

Ultimately, I decided to sort my search offers by those with matched donation offers, so I can double the donation. Next, I decided to search by Warmth, Care, and Hunger – because as a mother of three I cannot imagine my kids going hungry, and no child can learn when they are in need of food or warmth. This still resulted in 7 PAGES of projects, and I desperately wish I could’ve funded them all! It’s heartbreaking to see so many teachers asking for basic snacks and hygiene items for kids that simply cannot afford them. I decided that I’d match my own donation, to triple the amount. The first project I selected to support is Personal Hygiene Items for 6-8th Graders. They needed $198 (plus the matching offer by a partner) to be fully funded. These kids will now have deodorant, a toothbrush, and toothpaste – items ALL kids should have!

Next, I supported Take our Hygiene Seriously!. These kids will now have the assorted personal care items like body washes, eczema lotions, deodorant and body wash that they need.

Finally, I supported Hungry to Learn! These kids were requesting Goldfish snack crackers to eat for snack, and now they can have them!

I hope you all will take the time to browse these projects, and if you’re able, donate a few dollars to help show kids how loved and important they all are. Kindness goes A LONG WAY.