According to a survey by AdoptAClassroom.org, teachers spent an average of $750 of their own money on school supplies for the 2020-2021 school year, which is the highest amount ever. They may spend even more during the coming school year with current inflation.
Parents of students can help by buying extra items on their child’s school supply list and delivering them to the classroom. However, there’s another way that anyone, parent or not, can ensure teachers have the essentials they need to do their important and increasingly challenging jobs: “Clear the list.”
What Is Clear the List?
In 2019, teachers and schools began using the hashtag #clearthelist on social media to help teachers raise money for supplies. The hashtag took on a life of its own and is now an annual back-to-school fundraising effort.
Parents, neighbors and celebrities buy items on one or more teacher’s wish lists to decrease the financial burden.
How to Get Involved
There are a few ways to find teachers’ wish lists. First, you can search the hashtag #clearthelist on many social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Most of these posts will have a link to the teacher or school’s Amazon wish list. You can choose anything you want to donate and complete the purchase. The items will be delivered directly to the teacher or school.
Another option is to go to getyourteachon.com/clearthelist, and select View Wish Lists (teachers can select Submit Your List to add their Amazon wish list to the page). You’ll be directed to a spreadsheet listing categories like the teacher’s name, the school’s name and the state in case you’d like to support a specific educator or a local school.
Whenever someone donates an item, Amazon removes it from the wish list. The goal is to clear as many lists as possible before the start of school.
If you are a teacher and want to create an Amazon wish list, you can follow the steps the retailer provided last August:
‼️📚 Attention Teachers 📚‼️
Want help with your classroom supplies? Follow these simple steps, then share your Wish List with #ClearTheList for community support. https://t.co/MuDHllErIz pic.twitter.com/IN5bzdw5CV
— Amazon (@amazon) August 2, 2021
Then, post a link to your list on social media with the hashtag #clearthelist and wait for some generous, caring people who appreciate what you do to take care of the rest.
Tricia is a professional writer and editor who lives in North Texas with her family and one smelly dog. She is a wannabe problem solver, junk food maven professional coffee practitioner, web guru and general communicator. More.
