About The School Tools Program

The School Tools program exists so that more children in our community will have an opportunity to learn and to succeed in school. Thousands of children in our local classrooms arrive each day without the basic tools they need for learning. Having school supplies is critically important to a child. Through the School Tools program, low-income school children receive these much needed supplies. School Tools is more than just pens, pencils and paper, it is the belief that with support and encouragement, all children can excel.

School Tools is an affiliate of the Kids In Need Foundation National Network of Teacher Resource Centers. To learn more about Kids In Need and its affiliates, click here.

The need

More than half of the children in our local public schools are enrolled in the free and reduced meal program at their school. If these children can’t afford lunch, it is very unlikely that they can afford the necessary supplies for school. For families struggling just to keep food on their tables, money for school supplies simply does not exist. As a result, many children in our community are going to school without the basic tools they need for learning.

Adding to the problem, school budgets in the Inland Empire are tight with no relief in sight. Recent surveys show that devoted teachers choose to spend between $500–$1000 of their own money to buy basic supplies including crayons and pencils rather than seeing their students go without.

How we work

School Tools provides teachers from low-income schools with a resource center where they can receive supplies for their students and classrooms at no charge. Located in Rancho Cucamonga, the School Tools Teacher Resource Center (TRC) is available to teachers from select schools in the Inland Empire United Way service area with more than 70% of its students enrolled in the federal free and reduced meal program. At the TRC, teachers are able to choose from a wide array of products including basic school supplies, fun incentive items, and arts and crafts supplies that encourage creativity. To supplement our work through the TRC, School Tools also supports local students and classrooms by conducting special distribution events held throughout the year.

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