Box Tops for Education Partners With LeBron James Family Foundation for BTS Program Dedicated to Education Equity

As students return to classrooms this year, Box Tops for Education (BTFE), the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF), and Walmart are teaming together to help students reach their full potential.

The new back-to-school partnership called “The Best Year Starts Here” is launching with a video series featuring LeBron.

For 25 years nearly $1 billion in Box Tops has gone to K-8 schools in the U.S. Now, a new partnership with the three brands is highlighting the importance of diverse representation in educators and empowering shoppers in every community to help students that need it most.

As part of General Mills’ commitment to advance equity in education, Box Tops now has a renewed focus to help the students in schools where support is most needed. BTFE gives shoppers an easy way to earn cash for any enrolled school, with products they already buy. Shoppers can use the Box Tops app to scan a store receipt that includes Box Tops products, and instantly add cash to a school’s earnings.

Here are details about the “The Best Year Starts Here” campaign:

As consumers shop for back-to-school season, a new Schools in Need search feature in the Box Tops app allows shoppers to find and select schools in need (where more than 40% of its student population is on the Free and Reduced Lunch Program) to receive funding from purchases of Box Tops products, with a goal of increasing Box Tops funds to schools in need by 20% by June of 2022. The “Schools In Need” app feature makes it easier for shoppers to find and support schools to help close the achievement gap, which disproportionately impacts children of color.

To launch the joint effort and to encourage community members to get involved, the LJFF is releasing a series of mini-documentaries. The first video features LeBron James and his mom as they share the inspiring story of Ayesha Cotton, a school support staff member at LJFF’s I PROMISE School. In the video debuting on Friday, teachers, and students praise Ayesha’s selfless contributions to the community and award her with $50,000 towards her student loans. All videos will post to @walmart.

The brand is on a journey to advance racial equity in K-8 education, starting in their backyard of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

- BTFE is partnering with community organizations like Black Men Teach to support their organizational goal to increase Black male representation to 20% in participating Minnesota schools by 2025. BTFE is providing $500,000 to fund loan-forgiveness, scholarships, and programming to get more Black male teachers into classrooms.