To Our Pets in the Classroom Participating Teachers and Supporters,

Normally at this time of year, we are reviewing your submissions for our annual Lesson Plan Contest. But with the pandemic upending all of our lives, times are anything but normal. Today, everyone’s focus has shifted to caring for loved ones, staying healthy, and doing our best to get through this difficult period. As we anticipate unprecedented challenges when children transition back to the classroom, we would like to ask you to consider a donation to the Pets in the Classroom program to help us provide support for every teacher who applies.

Thanks to our corporate and industry sponsors, which provide the backbone of our annual funding, you have been able to experience firsthand the benefits that the Pets in the Classroom program offers in helping your students process emotions, set aside anxieties, and focus on academics.

We are hopeful for a return to some kind of normalcy in the fall with a new school year and classes once again in session. While we do not know exactly when that will happen, we anticipate an increase of grant requests as students readjust to schools, and expect that the need to support classroom teachers will far exceed our typical corporate funding. We also anticipate more requests as pets that went home with students last spring may not come back to classrooms.

Today, we are asking you to consider a donation to help us make this wonderful program available to even more classrooms at a time when they will need it most. Any donation will help—$5.00, $10.00 or even more from yourself, a family member or friend can go a long way toward helping us make sure that every teacher who applies for a grant receives the funding they need to bring a pet into their classroom.

Thank you for everything you do. Stay safe and be well.