CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois educators and school supporters have launched nearly 2,500 GoFundMe campaigns to help pay for classroom expenses since the fundraising site launched in 2010.
A new guidebook the company released Monday to help teachers decrease their out-of-pocket expenses shows Illinois educators have netted $1.2 million from more than 23,000 donations.
The Chicago Tribune reports that money raised has gone toward class field trips, crayons, iPad keyboards, sports equipment, stickers and welcome bags with refillable water bottles.
Kanoon Magnet School teacher Blake Macdonald says he used GoFundMe in March to raise $515 to buy a variety of new, critically acclaimed young adult novels for each of his students.
The state’s fundraising total puts it in seventh place after California, Texas, Florida, New York, North Carolina and Georgia.
