Pepin Academies Foundation Hosts School Supply Campaigns

TAMPA BAY, FL — Pepin Academies Foundation has launched its inaugural Adopt-a-Classroom and Adopt-a-Student campaigns to help equip teachers and students with needed school supplies for the 2020-21 school year.

Individuals and businesses are invited to participate by sponsoring or “adopting” a classroom or student, with the option to donate to a specific Pepin Academies campus or support all three of its Tampa Bay area campuses.

Adopt-a-Classroom funds will provide teachers with needed academic enrichment materials. Teachers will have the opportunity to identify their individual classroom needs, a crucial step in granting schools the flexibility needed to adapt their teaching practices to suit the individual needs of their students.

“Especially during this time of ongoing uncertainty, it’s reassuring to know there are community partners who care about us and the needs of our students,” said James Jacobelli, a sixth-grade reading and language arts teacher at Pepin Academies.“If my classroom were to be adopted, I would use the money to bring to life the books that I read with my students. Previously, for example, we read ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone’ and had a sorting ceremony. We also read ‘Hoot’ and made papier mâché owls, and ‘The City of Ember’ and painted what the underground city might look like.”

Adopt-a-Student funds will provide students with a backpack filled with needed school supplies that will be delivered directly to their school for collection.

“This campaign will help build confidence in our students who don’t have the supplies needed for the upcoming school year as a result of their socioeconomic situation,” said Lea Lewis, life management skills teacher for high school access at Pepin Academies. “For students, raising their hand to borrow something from a teacher can sometimes be embarrassing. If we had these funds designated, we could instead build their self-confidence which enables them to thrive in the classroom.”

Adopt-a-Classroom and Adopt-a-Student donations can be securely made online via the Pepin Academies Foundation website or through Pepin Academies Foundation’s Amazon Wishlist.

Pepin Academies Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports all of Pepin Academies’ campuses. Pepin Academies are public, tuition-free charter schools located in Tampa, Riverview and New Port Richey that serve students with learning disabilities in grades three through 12 and provides a transitional job training program for young adults ages 18-22 years old.