School supplies…Me to We…

There’s something about having to purchase yet another French/English dictionary…having to buy yet another math set and the umpteen three-ring binders that seem to fall apart year after year…that sends me a little over the edge.

I remember a red binder I used through Junior High and High School…CO heart’s LS…scratched out to RP…scratched out to LS…for all to see long after I’d lost my crush on either of them. It came from Dad’s office…the best from a pick of various sized binders, all displaying company logos and corporate tag lines…no longer used at his office but perfectly good for school.

Things are different from the way things used to be…one binder for every subject…divider pages and paper for every binder. Glue, scissors, pencils, pens, pencil crayons, markers, ruler, USB stick, tape, sharpener, highlighters, sharpies, duotangs, math set, French/English dictionary, post-it notes, graph paper, computer paper, note-book, report covers, water bottle, pencil-case, lock for locker…all one hundred and fifty-five dollars worth of items now laid out on my dining room table…all needed…all required.

I liked the days when I wrote the teacher a check.

But instead, with days to go before the big day, Bones and I headed to Staples where I was forced (as my father reminds often) to press my “numb button” to keep my patience in tact rather than press the infamous Staples “easy” button.

I went to Staples for one reason only…Me to We.

This year, for the first time, students and parents in Canada can make a difference with their back-to-school purchases while helping thousands of children receive access to education by purchasing the Me to We line of school supplies. Each product purchased gives a life-changing gift directly to a child or family in a Free The Children developing community overseas so they can learn without the battles against hunger, thirst, disease and financial restraints.

Bones and I managed to find a few of the items on our list including a wonderful water bottle. Every Me to We item comes with a unique Track Your Impact code so you’re able to see exactly where your purchases will make a difference…and the purchase of that one water bottle will provide one year of clean drinking water to someone in need!

Every year, school supply shopping sends me a little over the edge…but this year, things felt a little bit different.

While I continue to complain about the endless list of “required” school supplies and my childrens’ “need” for so many items purchased new every single year…there was something absolutely wonderful about knowing a few of those items will make a real difference…to the education of a child…in much greater need than my own.