It's Almost Back to School Time!

Time for new pencils, new notebooks, new shoes...ah, the memories! Yes, the costs add up and we are going to be especially aware of that this year since we've been down a paycheck for several months. Even so, we are in much better shape than many families whose parents are without a job.

Nationwide, there are children in every public school one can think of who will come to class on the first day of school with no school supplies. For these children, the first day of school may be more of an embarrassment than a time of anticipation. The good news is that Elmer's has vowed to donate $10 to Adopt-a-Classroom up to $10,000 for every blog that will participate in their Virtual Bag It Forward! As a teacher and a parent, this is a cause near and dear to my heart. Won't you help out?

HOW CAN YOU JOIN? It’s easy.

* Participate in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward and by giving away a virtual bag of school supplies and creating a blog post with specific rules described below.
* Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom.
* You can give as many virtual bags as you want.
* The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 12 PM EST on August 12, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted.
* The blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.
* In addition copy and paste the following text into your blog post:

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES

* Copy and paste these rules into your blog post.
* Create a blog post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
* Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
* Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
* Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
* Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by August 12, 2010).
* Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

If you are a blogger, and you are reading this, I challenge YOU to write a post and blog this forward! If I don't get some response, guess what?! I'll call you out, so watch out and do it yourself instead, mkay?!

Thanks, Elmer's, supporting America's schools and students!