Many teachers have Amazon wish lists for their classes and hope that a fairy godmother will come along and “clear their lists.” It just so happens that a teacher at our school recently had her list cleared many times over. If you were wondering what it means to “Clear the List,” it is a nationwide movement to support teachers by purchasing items from their online wish list that takes place on Giving Tuesday. 

  In order to be put on this particular list, teachers had to teach at a Title I school or be affected Hurrican Ian. 

  The influencer who organized this particular “Clear the List” campaign is “things.i.bought.and.liked.” This was her second year organizing “Clear the List” as she did it all on her own for the first year. 

  This year, she was able to get a lot of well-known companies, and even authors to help sponsor this movement. In total, over $1.2 million was reportedly spent, not counting the amount from private donors, for teachers that got on the list around the country. 

  Recently, Jennifer Drew, the AP Language and Comp and Publications teacher at Sterling High School, was selected to get her list cleared. She is the first teacher from S.H.S. to get their list cleared by this influencer. Last year, Drew also got on the list and received $150 through Venmo to buy snacks for her kids.

  Drew shared, “When I put that list together, I didn’t know if even one item would be purchased. But as I watched the items fly off the list so quickly, I felt extremely thankful to those who were buying and excited for my students.”

  Some of the companies and individuals who bought off of Drew’s list are bestselling author Alexander Bracken, Cetaphil (this company also reached out to Drew personally), Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Poo Pourri, Random House Publishing, and Sam’s Club.

  Drew had around $3,000 worth of products purchased off of her list, and over 200 boxes of goods were sent to her home. Most of those who contributed would buy one or two items, but there were some who bought $1,000 worth of items. Three of the people who donated had a connection to S.H.S. in some way.

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  The items she received were tons of drinks and snacks for her students, 30 books for her classroom library, class set of clipboards, binders, Post-it notes, pens, pencils, and highlighters. Drew shared some of her items with the English department, donated around 40 boxes of food to the counseling center, and created two tables full of snacks in the hallway for students during finals week.

  Drew admitted, “I was a little overwhelmed when receiving the packages because there was just so much stuff being sent to my house.” Later on, she explained that after she had everything sorted and brought to the school. She was so grateful as it meant the world to her that her kids would be able to eat and stay focused.

  Through the assistance from these organizations and people, many students around the country benefited. Being able to have a teacher from our own school get so much purchased off of her list is a dream come true.