Recent Schoola Success Stories from SFUSD

by Megan Walsh

Schoola works with over 22,000 schools nation-wide to turn donated preloved clothing into character-building experiences for kids.

53 of those success stories are right here in San Francisco, and Yick Wo Elementary from SFUSD tops our fundraising leaderboard. Read on to hear how their students filled gaps in their school budget by turning existing household items into academic and extracurricular opportunities.

From $0 to $16,000 for the Arts
When we began our partnership with Yick Wo Elementary in the Fall of 2013, their art budget was $1. They now run quarterly clothing drives with Schoola and earn an average of $4,000 every 3 months to make masterpieces. 

From Lost to Found to Funded
Jefferson Elementary has raised over $900 simply by donating unclaimed lost & found items to Schoola. One of our Schoola staffers is an alumnae of Jefferson and was able to hand over an oversized check to her alma mater during our holiday trolley tour of schools. 

From Microfleece to Microscopes
Jean Parker Elementary has raised over $2,700 to fund their twice-yearly science fair. Their primarily ESL community may have difficulty participating in traditional fundraisers where language might be a barrier to participation, but cleaning out closets for the benefit of the school was a very inclusive initiative that had a real impact on their school. 

Will This Program Work For Your School? 
There are 2 easy ways to start raising money for your school using Schoola - request a postage paid donation bag to donate from home by mail, or start a school-wide drive. We can get you started in as little as 2 weeks. 

About Schoola 
Schoola’s unique solution that has been praised as an “amazing mash-up of community building, upcycling and commerce.” Together with thousands of community members & customers, we bring new instruments to the orchestra, books to libraries and Chromebooks to classrooms. Quality clothes get a second life. Parents help parents. Schools help schools. And students get the tools they need to realize their full potential at school.

Megan Walsh joined the Schoola team 2 years ago because she couldn't imagine school without Art Class or Swimming. Now she is a mom of two bay area babes, and spends the workweek helping more parents find and leverage Schoola to fund their school programs. Megan discovered PPS-SF while navigating the lottery system for the first time last year - now with a Kindergartner at Sunnyside Elementary, she continually finds indispensable info and healthy debate regarding the challenges that face our communities and schools on the PPS-SF list serve.