Summer Impact & Start of the School Year Fun
Back-to-School
September: The Free Store for Teachers Opens for the school year
In early September, to start the school year, the Free Store for Teachers opened its doors. Special items (and of course all the basics!) lined the shelves for teachers to grab and bring back to their classrooms and distribute to their students. This means that kids entered classrooms stocked with supplies and teachers created lesson plans with the tools they needed.
In just 3 weeks, over 300 teachers walked through our doors and left with hundreds to thousands of dollars' worth of supplies.
Learn more about how the Free Store works here.
Special thanks to this year’s foundation and corporate partners who generously support The Free Store for Teachers program:
Reser Family Foundation, Holman Enterprises, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, The Wheeler Foundation, Herbert A. Templeton Foundation, Oregon Metro: East County Rising Community Projects, Comcast Cable Communications, The Jackson Foundation, H.W. Irwin and D.C.H. Irwin Foundation, and many more!
A Recap of Summer Programs
The KGW School Supply Drive
Kicking off the school year, with our community’s support, over $1.2 million worth of donations was collected throughout the month of August for the KGW School Supply Drive. (Our biggest and most successful year yet!) This means that nearly 50,000 students in 75+ school districts across Oregon and SW Washington received brand new school supplies to start their school year!
Thanks to the thousands of partners and supporters who made this all possible – from individuals in the community to businesses and community partners, and the many collection sites, our community showed up for their local students.
To everyone who contributed financially, donated school supplies, or volunteered their time - thank you for making an impact! We are immensely grateful for your support, friendship, and partnership.
Learn more about this community effort HERE.
A huge thank you to our generous and amazing sponsors for this year's supply drive:
Safeway, OnPoint Community Credit Union, Rick's Custom Fencing & Decking, Great Clips, KGW, Columbia Sportswear Employee Store, & Windermere.
With your support, this year’s KGW School Supply Drive was the most successful year to date!
Tools for Schools
Thanks to our rockstar partners and their employee volunteers, Schoolhouse Supplies distributed 10,000 backpacks and school supply kits to the highest-need elementary and middle schools in Multnomah County! With support from our partners, we ensured that kids started this school year with a brand new backpack full of school supplies.
See photos and learn more HERE.
Tools for Schools Sponsors:
First Tech Federal Credit Union, Moda Health, Comcast, Care Oregon, Pacific NW Federal Credit Union, Vernier Science Education, Columbia Bank, Unitus Community Credit Union, Pacific Power and more!
Pack for a Purpose
This summer and back-to-school season, community partners packed thousands of school supply kits – from art kits and homework kits to pencil pouch kits and backpack kits. These kits were distributed to local communities or were donated back to line the shelves of the Free Store for Teachers. Through Pack for a Purpose, kids have a kit with just the supplies they need!
Thank you to our partners for showing up, packing kits, and making an impact in our community!
Learn more about Pack for a Purpose HERE!
Mark Your Calendars
ReUse Open House with Rebuilding Center
When: Thursday, 10/8/26 4pm-7pm
Where: ReBuilding Center, 3625 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227
What to expect: Join us for music, food trucks, hands-on activites, and more. This FREE event is Portland's community celebration of reuse.
Boards & Brews: Learn About Nonprofit Board Service
When: Wednesday, 11/4/26, 5pm-7pm
Where: 10 Barrel Brewing, 1411 NW Flanders St, Portland, OR 97209
What to expect: Connect with six local nonprofit organizations actively seeking board and committee members. Sip local craft beer, meet nonprofit leaders, learn about how you can make a difference in your community through board service. This is a FREE event!
Schoolhouse Supplies Trivia Night: our annual fundraiser
When: Thursday, 4/8/27 5:30pm-8pm
Where: Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub, 112 SW Second Avenue, Portland, OR 97204
What to expect: Our community comes together for an evening filled with fun, friendly competition, and connection. This is Schoolhouse Supplies’ annual fundraiser and all the funds raised directly support local students and teachers!
For a more detailed look at Schoolhouse Supplies most recent Impact Report please follow this link HERE.
