Doing Good Together

Your Order Helps Us Do More Good.

By Stephanie Bowen

If you’ve been following What’s Good, you know that we are about more than just doing good for our planet with the products we sell. Our ethos is about doing good in every way that we can. One of the ways that we stay true to that value is by supporting a different non-profit organization each month (in addition to our 1% for the Planet and our One Tree Planted box used box program). For the month of August 2021, we’re focusing on kids and teachers across America who are preparing to go back to school by supporting the Kids In Need Foundation (KINF).

We’ve all heard stories in news about student absenteeism, poor performance and drop out rates. We’ve heard story after story about teachers spending their own money to make sure their students have necessary supplies, or extreme burnout because they just do not feel valued. Both issues exacerbated by these strange Covid times.

Research shows that chronic absenteeism among students is linked to a lack of basic supplies, made worse for girls—who also struggle to get hygiene products. The more they skip school, the more likely kids are to drop out before graduation, decreasing their odds of a financially and socially stable adulthood. Kids in Need Foundation research also found that teachers spend as much as two full paychecks a year on supplies for their classrooms. Not only does this effort and personal spending contribute to burnout, which impacts the overall classroom environment, it makes it hard to recruit and retain quality teachers. All of this is felt more keenly in under-resourced schools, disproportionally affecting students of color. Find out more in the Foundation’s compelling case for support.

Since 1995, Kids in Need Foundation has addressed these very challenges by providing essential school supplies, distance learning resources, and other essential classroom items. They partner with teachers in underserved schools to make sure students have what they need and are prepared to learn. In 2020 alone, Kids in Need Foundation served an estimated 5 million students, 205,000 teachers, and provided over $70 million in products at no cost to schools or teachers.

To do our part to ensure that kids and teachers have the supplies they need to succeed, What’s Good is donating a portion of our August 2021 sales to Kids in Need Foundation. So, your order isn’t just supporting the planet and our “not-just-for-profit” business, it helps us support teachers and kids across the United States. Remember that triple win at check-out and help us spread the word.

P.S. If you know of an organization doing good work, send us a note telling us who they are and why you want us to support them. 

About Stephanie Bowen: After two successful careers —one in broadcast journalism, another as a communications and PR pro working in global health, development and rights — Stephanie is harnessing her love of story and strategic communications for positive impact with the consultancy practice, SHARE: Stories that Buzz. She is a contributor, sounding board, friend, and customer of What's Good.