Equipped to Learn Campaign

With high unemployment, and more than 30 million students enrolled in free and reduced meal programs, families are struggling. Many children are unprepared for school because their families can’t afford to purchase notebooks, pens, and other supplies their kids need to be effective. In addition, schools across the country are facing budget cuts and lack of funding to purchase necessary supplies.

To help children be better prepared for school and to help ease the burden on families and schools, Create The Good’s Equipped to Learn campaign is reaching out to members and volunteers nationwide to help collect supplies, either individual donations or through school supply drives, and distribute them to local schools prior to September 11th, the National Day of Service.

The commitment of AARP to get involved in creating social change in local communities began with Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, the founder of AARP and NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community, formerly known as the National Retired Teachers Association. Dr. Andrus spent her youth and young adult years in Chicago and was a volunteer at several local Settlement Houses. Later, she would become the first woman high school principal in the State of California where she served at the same low-income high school in an immigrant community for 28 years. She understood the needs of communities and the importance of supporting education.

AARP’s new President, Lee Hammond, also has a strong connection to youth. He began his 30-year career in education in Wicomico County, Md., as a classroom teacher. He then served as school administrator for 25 years, working with diverse students and professional populations. AARP members nationwide have told us that volunteering to help youth is an important way for them to give back. Mr. Hammond also served as President of AARP Maryland and the then Maryland Retired Teachers Association, an affiliate of NRTA.

NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community shares a commitment to learning, voluntary service, and civic participation. More than a decade ago, the organization formed the With Our Youth! program to provide volunteer opportunities for community service projects with youth. For the first three years of the program, NRTA made a pledge to serve 1.5 million youth in 2,000 communities with a total of 45 million service hours through its affiliated state retired educators associations (REAs). The goal was met and exceeded.

Because of our roots as an organization, our member interest in youth, and the continuing cuts in school budgets across the country, Create The Good is focusing its efforts on the Equipped to Learn campaign, providing children with much needed school supplies. And to get a better understanding of the needs of schools throughout the country, AARP is collaborating with the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation on this campaign.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation supports principals in their important role to prepare students to reach their highest potential. For more than 30 years, NAESP Foundation has operated as the tax exempt, charitable arm of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), a professional association.  NAESP, founded in 1921, is a national organization serving all elementary and middle level principals.  NAESP has outreach to more than 75,000 pre-k-8 principals and more than 1,000 superintendents across the nation and serves as a "lifeline" to principals in need.

In 2010, people like you helped over 20,000 students in 44 states through this project. Wow!

We invite all AARP members and volunteers to get involved in this campaign by:

• Donating supplies to your local school or local school supply drive
• Planning your own school supply drive
• Volunteering with local organizations that help youth
• Telling teachers, friends, and family about this campaign