Iola Roberts Elementary receives $25,000 in eBoxTops
Published 8:00 am Friday, September 13, 2013
- Fourth graders Jaiden Cox, James Whitten, Harlie McGuire and Anna Hodgens were among the exited students on hand at Iola Roberts Elementary School when principal Roy Bliss announced that the school has received a substantial donation from the Kleenex Corporation. It is one of only three schools in the country to receive the award.
Iola Roberts Elementary School has received a prize that’s nothing to sneeze at.
Kleenex Brand last week awarded the Pell City school with 250,000 eBoxTops – equal to $25,000 – which administrators can use to buy such items as school equipment, books and classroom supplies. Iola Roberts is one of three schools in the country to receive the award.
“This is miraculous,” principal Roy Bliss said. “It’s a blessing from the Lord. God uses and organizations and corporations to help where there are needs, and this will be a big help to us.”
Jason Castleberry, a 1995 Pell City High School graduate who now volunteers at Iola Roberts, entered the elementary school in the Kleenex Brand in the Classroom sweepstakes. “This is a community stakeholder in action for their school,” Bliss said of Castleberry. “This is what being a community stakeholder is all about.”
“I’ve never won anything before, but I’m very glad I won this for a great group of people who do such a great job educating our children,” Castleberry said, receiving a standing ovation from faculty member and students during a school assembly last week.
The sweepstakes, launched last spring on TeacherLists.com to encourage teachers, administrators and parent volunteers to add Kleenex brand tissues to school supply lists. Participants were asked to visit the website and adding Kleenex brand tissue to their back-to-school lists for a chance to win 250,000 eBoxTops for their school, redeemable for a $25,000 cash award.
“When I heard about it, I was like, ‘Lucky!’” said fourth grader James Whitten. “I would like to use it to buy more school supplies for next year. My little sister is in first grade, and I’d like for her not to have to buy so many supplies for her next year.”
Fellow fourth grader Jaiden Cox also had a suggestion for how the money could be spent. “We should buy new computers. Most of the ones we have are kind of old.”
In addition to the eBoxTops, Iola Roberts expects to receive a product donation from Kleenex to keep each classroom stocked with Kleenex facial tissue for the duration of the school year.
“As part of this prize, we’ve also been awarded $150 worth of glue, which will go a long way in our classrooms,” Bliss said.
