Walmart will treat students to ‘Shop with a Hero’ day

February 08, 2012

A generous donation from Springfield’s Walmart stores will give 155 Springfield Public Schools students the opportunity to Shop with a Hero Saturday, Feb. 11.

Walmart made the $15,500 donation to Care to Learn, which helps meet hunger, health and hygiene needs of area children.

Each participating student will be paired with an SPS employee who will help the child shop at Walmart for items such as clothing, toiletries and nutritional food.  The student will also be accompanied on the shopping trip by his or her parent or guardian.

At 9 a.m. on Feb. 11, the student, parent and SPS “hero” will meet at one of five designated Walmart stores in Springfield. Care to Learn and Walmart have arranged for each student to spend up to $100 on items for the student’s use including shampoo, hairbrush/comb, dental care items, coat, hat, gloves, shoes, socks, jeans, shirts, nutritional food, vitamins, etc.  

“We are appreciative of Walmart and Care to Learn’s efforts to meet the critical needs of our most under-served students,” said Superintendent Norm Ridder. “The message these organizations are sending to our students is powerful and simple – our community cares about them and believes that they are important. “

SPS selected students to participate and employees to act as “heroes for a day.”

“We know that educators do everything they can each day to help students achieve their academic potential, but we also understand that when students’ basic needs aren’t meet, they are poorly equipped to learn,” said Doug Pitt, founder of Care to Learn. “This is our way of making sure students are prepared to learn and of supporting our heroes--teachers.”

Category: News

Walmart Care to Learn health and wellness