Teachers can raise funds for their classroom through Scholastic with a ClassroomsCount™ campaign. Here’s how one inspiring teacher used her campaign for classroom “Book Tastings.” Start your own campaign to get books, magazines, and more trusted products in kids’ hands! 

ELA teacher Danielle Ianelli recently started a teaching job at a new school — and she brought her collection of books with her. She had spent 15 years building her classroom library by perusing books at garage sales, scouting out eBay, and looking anywhere else she could find books for a bargain. Over time, though, those books started to deteriorate. 

“The books started falling apart and I couldn’t keep funding them myself,” says Danielle. “I saw ClassroomsCount™ and set up a campaign in the fall, sharing it just between my own friends and family.”

Through that campaign, which she titled “Would You Like to Be a Book Fairy?”, Danielle raised $200. She heard from people she hadn’t seen in over a decade who wanted to contribute. 

“With that money, I did something called a Book Tasting, where I make my room look like a restaurant and the kids go from table to table and ‘taste’ different books,” says Danielle. “Then they fill out a little menu about the books they’re interested in and the next week I let them take those books out. That went really well — my fourth and fifth graders were talking and talking about it.” 

Fueled by the success of her first one, Danielle decided to create another campaign. It had similar “Book Fairy” branding as the first campaign, but this time, she also shared it in a newsletter that is sent to all of her students’ families (Danielle sees about 50 kids throughout the day). 

“Between my personal family and friends, and the family and friends at school, contributions really jumped,” says Danielle. 

In fact, she set her goal at $300, but ended up raising $970 — including one contribution of $500 from an anonymous donor! With the funds she raised, Danielle was able to host a new Book Tasting with diverse and culturally responsive sets and books like A Wrinkle in Time. 

Here are Danielle’s top tips for creating your own successful ClassroomsCount™ campaign:

Don’t be nervous to share your campaign: “When you say it in a way like, ‘Be a Book Fairy,” you’re just putting it out there and helping kids,” says Danielle. “Any little bit helps. It doesn’t matter how big or small the contribution is.” 

Share photos of how you’ll use the books: “I created a Google folder with a collection of different photos from the year, including our last Book Tasting, to share with parents in my newsletter,” says Danielle. 

Repost your campaign frequently: “Post it every other day,” says Danielle. “I would repost my campaign and always thank people who contributed right away.” 

Overall, Danielle says she appreciated how hands-off the campaign was for her — all of the money was in a fund through Scholastic, so she didn’t have to collect cash. But best of all: It helped spark a love for reading in her students. 

“The kids get so excited, and it’s so simple,” says Danielle. 

Start your own ClassroomsCount™ campaign today to raise funds for your classroom.