CVS Health and Aetna Support Students and Teachers Through Back-to-School Community Initiatives
As students and teachers prepare to return to classrooms each year, access to basic school supplies can play an important role in helping children begin the academic year prepared and confident. For many families and educators, however, the cost of backpacks, notebooks, hygiene products and other classroom essentials can create an additional financial challenge.
Recognizing the importance of ensuring students have the resources they need to begin the school year on the right foot, CVS Health and Aetna joined forces with community organizations and sports partners to support families and educators across the country. Through a series of back-to-school events and local initiatives, CVS Health and Aetna colleagues helped provide thousands of students with school supplies, backpacks and other essential resources.
The initiatives brought together employees, nonprofit organizations, local communities and sports partners, including the Washington Spirit, Kansas City Current and Boston Red Sox. Together, these efforts helped provide more than 5,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students in need.
Beyond the supplies themselves, the programs were designed to communicate an important message: students, teachers and families are supported by their communities and have partners invested in their success.
Helping Remove Barriers to Learning
A backpack filled with school supplies may seem like a simple gesture, but for students and families facing financial challenges, it can remove one of the barriers that can make the beginning of a school year more difficult.
School supplies are essential tools for learning. Notebooks, pencils, folders and other classroom materials allow students to participate fully in classroom activities, while backpacks provide a practical way to carry those materials between home and school.
For teachers, access to adequate classroom resources can also help create a more effective learning environment. Educators frequently face the challenge of providing materials for their classrooms, making community support particularly valuable during the back-to-school season.
Throughout the summer, hundreds of CVS Health and Aetna colleagues participated in events across the country. From Ohio to Seattle and Miami to Hartford, employees volunteered their time to help prepare and distribute resources to students and families.
The effort was carried out through local partnerships, allowing each community to tailor its activities to the needs of local students and families.
Supporting Families Across Rhode Island
In Rhode Island, approximately 100 CVS Health colleagues came together to pack 1,000 backpacks for local youth.
The backpacks and supplies were distributed through a network of community organizations working with children and families throughout the region. Partners included Connecting for Children & Families, the Hockomock Area YMCA, Empower LGA, Start Anew, Sojourner House, NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, Federal Hill House and the Waltham Boys & Girls Club.
The collaboration demonstrated how employee volunteers and community organizations can work together to connect resources with the students and families who need them.
By preparing backpacks in advance and distributing them through established community organizations, CVS Health and its partners were able to reach young people through organizations already familiar with the needs of local families.
Preparing Students in Florida
In Florida, colleagues from Aetna and Aetna Better Health of Florida joined CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic colleagues to support Branches Inc.’s annual Back-to-School Night in Florida City.
The event brought together employees and community partners to support more than 250 students and family members. Volunteers prepared backpacks, school supplies and hygiene kits for participating families.
The inclusion of hygiene supplies alongside traditional school materials reflects the broader needs families can face when preparing children for a new school year. Providing several types of essentials through a single community event can help families address multiple back-to-school needs at once.
The partnership with Branches Inc. also provided an opportunity for CVS Health and Aetna employees to engage directly with families in the local community.
Expanding the Effort in New Jersey
In New Jersey, CVS Health and Aetna Better Health of New Jersey colleagues worked with HOPES Community Action Partnership to pack 500 backpacks.
The initiative was complemented by local CVS Pharmacy teams, which prepared another 500 backpacks for distribution through the Meals on Wheels program in Ewing.
Together, these efforts helped expand the reach of the back-to-school campaign by using community organizations and existing local programs to connect resources with families.
The involvement of Meals on Wheels also highlights the way community-based organizations can serve as important connections between businesses, volunteers and residents. Rather than relying on a single event or distribution point, the initiative used established community networks to reach people who could benefit from the additional support.
Community Partnerships in Illinois
In Illinois, CVS Health and Aetna colleagues partnered with the Chicago Park District and Chicago Parks Foundation to assemble and distribute school supplies during end-of-summer programming.
These programs gave employees an opportunity to volunteer directly in their community while supporting students as they prepared to return to school.
CVS Health also donated backpacks and other back-to-school items to residents of Grace Manor, an affordable housing property in North Lawndale, Chicago. CVS Health had invested more than $18 million toward the development of the property, creating another opportunity to connect the company’s community investment efforts with support for residents.
For families living in affordable housing communities, assistance with school supplies can help ease some of the costs associated with the start of a new academic year.
The Grace Manor effort reflects a broader approach in which community investments can extend beyond a single event and support residents in the places where they live.
Partnering With Professional Sports Teams
CVS Health and Aetna also worked with sports partners to bring the back-to-school initiative to additional communities.In Maryland, colleagues partnered with the Washington Spirit soccer team to distribute backpacks at South Lake Elementary School.
In Kansas City, the Kansas City Current joined colleagues in providing backpacks through community partners, including the Ronald McDonald House and United Way.The involvement of professional sports organizations added another dimension to the initiatives by connecting community support with organizations that have strong local visibility and relationships.
Sports teams can serve as powerful community gathering points, and partnerships with teams such as the Washington Spirit and Kansas City Current provided another way to engage students and families around the start of the school year.The broader initiative also included the Boston Red Sox as a CVS Health sports partner, further extending the company’s community engagement efforts.
Supporting Teachers in Portland
The back-to-school effort extended beyond student backpacks and included direct support for educators.CVS Pharmacy sponsored a Teacher Supply Drive in Portland, Oregon, an initiative created by KPTV-TV, Portland’s FOX affiliate. The program was designed to help local teachers and students prepare for the school year by supporting classroom supply needs.
Through a partnership with DonorsChoose, an online nonprofit crowdfunding platform, members of the Portland community could contribute to teachers’ classroom projects and wish lists.The initiative was promoted through a live telethon as well as the DonorsChoose platform, giving community members multiple opportunities to support educators.
CVS Pharmacy committed $5,000 to the effort. Community contributions subsequently helped fund more than 125 projects at more than 75 schools, with more than $59,000 raised and counting.DonorsChoose facilitated the purchase and delivery of supplies to participating schools, helping ensure that teachers and students received the educational materials and classroom essentials requested for the school year.
Addressing the Needs of Educators
Support for teachers is particularly relevant during back-to-school season, when educators often prepare their classrooms while also managing the costs associated with instructional materials.Teachers play a central role in creating learning environments where students can succeed, and having the right classroom resources can support that work.
The Portland Teacher Supply Drive offered a way for community members to contribute directly to specific classroom needs. Instead of providing general donations, the DonorsChoose model allowed supporters to help fund individual teacher projects and classroom wish lists.
The more than 125 projects supported through the initiative demonstrate the potential impact of collective community contributions. While individual donations may be relatively modest, combining contributions can provide meaningful resources for teachers and students across numerous schools.
Building Stronger Community Connections
Although the individual back-to-school initiatives differed by location, organization and format, they shared a common objective: helping students and families begin the academic year with the resources and confidence they need.Some initiatives focused primarily on backpacks and school supplies. Others incorporated hygiene products, community programming or direct support for teachers. Still others used partnerships with professional sports organizations, nonprofit groups and local media to expand their reach.
This locally focused approach allowed CVS Health and Aetna colleagues to participate in programs that addressed the needs of individual communities while contributing to a broader national effort.Hundreds of employees volunteered their time throughout the summer, helping pack supplies, distribute backpacks and participate in community events. Their involvement added a personal element to the company’s support, bringing employees directly into the communities where the company operates and serves customers.
Investing in Students, Teachers and Communities
The back-to-school initiatives are part of CVS Health’s broader focus on community engagement. The company has emphasized efforts that connect its business, employees and community partnerships to local needs.Supporting students and teachers is one way that commitment can take shape at the community level.
For students, receiving a backpack filled with supplies can provide practical resources for the school year. For families, those supplies can help reduce some of the expenses associated with returning to school. For teachers, classroom donations can provide materials that support instruction and student engagement.Taken together, these contributions can help strengthen the connections among businesses, schools, nonprofits and families.
The initiatives also demonstrate the role that partnerships can play in addressing community needs. CVS Health and Aetna worked alongside organizations ranging from youth and family nonprofits to housing providers, professional sports teams, school-related organizations and community foundations.By combining employee volunteerism, corporate support and local partnerships, the programs reached communities across the country.
One Student at a Time
The start of a school year is an important moment for students, families and teachers. It brings new opportunities, new expectations and, for many families, new expenses.The CVS Health and Aetna back-to-school initiatives sought to make that transition easier by providing practical resources and community support.
More than 5,000 backpacks filled with school supplies were provided through events across the country, while additional initiatives supported teachers and classroom projects. In Portland alone, community support helped fund more than 125 projects at more than 75 schools, with more than $59,000 raised and counting.
While each program was unique, the underlying goal remained consistent: helping students and educators begin the school year prepared.For CVS Health, these efforts represent more than the distribution of school supplies. They provide opportunities for employees to connect with local communities, collaborate with nonprofit organizations and support families in tangible ways.
Whether through improving access to healthcare, investing in community programs, supporting affordable housing or helping equip local classrooms, community partnerships can have an impact at the local level.In this case, the effort starts with something as simple as a backpack—but its broader purpose is to help students walk into the classroom prepared, supported and ready to learn, one student and one community at a time.
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