Pencils, notebooks, pens, and notecards – amongst several other supplies – are on the lengthy laundry list to prepare for August, Back to School Month. Approaching August, parents, students, and teachers experience a hectic rush of ensuring children’s success in learning, safety, and healthy habits at school.
Why your company should celebrate Back to School Month
On top of the frenzy, preparing children to return to school can be stressful, especially for the thousands of schools serving low-income families.
That’s why several nonprofits and partnered companies have jumped on the front lines to relieve the stress from parents, teachers, and schools by providing children with the various supplies, technologies, and support systems needed to ensure students’ shining futures.
As Carl Sagan once said, “the visions we offer our children shape the future.” Luckily for you, we have 4 major ways your company can set children globally up for a successful school year through back-to-school workplace philanthropy initiatives that engage employees and your local community.
How your company can celebrate Back to School Month with workplace philanthropy
The following initiatives were curated by our team of social impact experts that execute thoughtful social impact efforts for our customers every day. Some of these initiatives are easy enough to accomplish internally, but for others, you will need to lean on a social impact program or team.
Don’t have a social impact program or team? Learn more about Percent Pledge powered customized social impact programs, a single source for donations, volunteering, charity vetting, & impact reports.
[1] Donating
Our Percent Pledge Back to School Cause Portfolio contains five highly-regarded, thoroughly vetted nonprofits that help take the guesswork out of choosing the right organization for your company and employees to donate to and partner with.
Generation Hope
To ensure all student parents have the opportunities to succeed and experience economic mobility, Generation Hope engages education and policy partners to drive systemic change and provides direct support to teen parents in college as well as their children through holistic, two-generation programming.
Kids in Need Foundation
Kids in Need Foundation believes every child in America should have equal opportunity and access to quality education. By partnering with teachers and students in under-resourced schools, it provides the support needed for teachers to teach and learners to learn.
After-School All-Stars
The mission of After-School All-Stars is to provide free, comprehensive after-school programs that keep children safe and help them succeed in school and life.
Kaboom!
Kaboom! unites with communities to build kid-designed playspaces that can spark joy and foster a sense of belonging for the kids who are often denied opportunities to thrive.
buildOn
buildOn is on a mission to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education.
Percent Pledge allows all companies and employees to donate to these nonprofits simultaneously through its Workplace Giving Platform.
[2] Volunteering
Time is invaluable, and volunteering your organization’s time, while inspiring your employees to do the same, is often the greatest gift you can give. It’s the perfect team-building event and can have an incredibly positive impact on your employees and your organization.
Homework helplines
Partner with a local public library to provide on-call help with students’ homework.
Read to students
Read to students in person or by recording yourself to improve student literacy through a local affiliate of Community in Schools.
Financial literacy help
Partner with the Junior Achievement to help children K-12 learn financial literacy.
Teach after-school activity
Partner with a local Boys & Girls Club to host an after-school activity.
A single volunteer event takes 20-30 hours to plan and execute. Learn how Percent Pledge saves your company that time by organizing customized volunteer events.
[3] Other ways to support
Inspire your employees to get involved and show their support. No gesture is too small.
Career panel
Host a career panel to teach students about your profession.
Career day
Conduct a career day, bringing students to your work to see a “day in the life.”
Sponsor any unmet needs
Partner with a local school district’s foundation or nonprofit partner to understand the needs in your community like sponsoring a class, grade, school, playground, field trip, school garden, arts education or STEM program, or Teacher Appreciation week breakfast or lunch.
Find a breakdown of each of these efforts and more for your company to make a positive impact this August by downloading our Back to School Kit. Again, if you need help pursuing these initiatives, learn more about Percent Pledge’s proven social impact program and team of experts by requesting a demo.
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