As the summer holidays come to an end and millions of students are preparing to head back to school, United Airlines is partnering with a nonprofit organization to help families and educators with the rising costs of supplies and classroom necessities by pledging to donate approximately $1.25 million to fund various products across classrooms in multiple cities.

Partnering with DonorsChoose

The nonprofit that United Airlines has chosen to partner with is DonorsChoose, which started as a website initially founded by a Bronx public high school teacher named Charles Best in 2000. Best realized that public educators spent an average of $500 out of pocket for classroom project materials annually. And he figured that there were people who would want to chip in.

With the website up and running, Best and his colleagues could post requests for classroom resources for their school projects. As the years went by, the website has grown into a more significant organization where it better connects the public communities to teachers from public schools who need money to buy school supplies and pay for other program expenses for their students.

Having funded over two million projects since it was first established, the organization's team properly vets every project and the relevant material requests. When a project is fully funded through monetary donations, the organization's team purchases the requested items, and all the materials will be shipped directly to the verified teachers. A detailed report of how each dollar was spent and a thank-you note from the teacher will be sent to each donor.

Funding for future aviators

Given how DonorsChoose is an incredibly meaningful organization and considering how drastic inflation currently is, United Airlines decided to step in by donating $1.25 million to fund all aviation classroom projects presently posted on the website, and are from classrooms in the airline's chosen cities of Chicago, Denver, Washington DC, New York, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and across Hawaii.

Photo: Phillip B. Espinasse | Shutterstock

Through this donation, the Star Alliance member could fund materials such as safety glasses and industrial first-aid kits for aviation maintenance school projects or even relevant reading books for introductory aviation projects. The airline's Senior Vice President, and Chief Communications Officer, Josh Earnest, highlighted:

"Whether it's using model planes to teach middle schoolers the dynamics of flight or taking a field trip to see how a simulator works, we're proud to help teachers get the resources to inspire the next generation of aviators. We're proud to team up with DonorsChoose to support teachers doing incredible work and changing students' lives around the country."

Helping the STEM field

Since the donated amount is a considerable sum, the remaining funds will be used over the following months during a matching campaign to help more aviation and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) focused projects in the same selected cities. Under the STEM-focused projects, United Airlines could fund enrichment tools like board games for lower academic reading children to improve their understanding of math.

The airline could also be funding Lego Education sets and 3D printers that make science come to life for students or even simple new furniture to rebuild a more comfortable and conducive environment for the students - the new possibilities are honestly endless, as Chief Executive Officer of DonorsChoose celebrates, Alix Guerrier:

"United Airlines is helping classrooms launch into the new school year with resources to help aviation and STEM students thrive. Through this campaign, United Airlines is empowering youth who are tomorrow's scientists, aviators, and engineers. This partnership will foster the beginnings of future careers."

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Bottom line

Suppose there are interested teachers in the selected cities who are keen on submitting a school project on DonorsChoose in hopes of being considered for funding from United Airlines. In that case, they can visit the organization's website to apply and go through the necessary verification process to be vetted.

Through the airline's significant contribution, no doubt that many projects will quickly be fully funded, and countless students' lives will be further enriched - especially since every little material, from books to furniture or headphones and enrichment tools, could genuinely make all the difference in enhancing a student's learning process.