During the school year, my children spend about as much time with their teacher as they do with me. That's a pretty significant amount of time, and I acknowledge that their teachers play a crucial role in not only their education, but their upbringing. I admire their teachers. I am thankful for their teachers. And I try my hardest to support their teachers in as many ways as I am able.

I was thrilled when the opportunity arose to work with OfficeMax and Mom It Forward in the "A Day Made Better" campaign. Join me as we support our teachers and show our appreciation for their hard work in the form of supplies for their classrooms. I realize that this pay-it-forward giveaway takes more thought, effort and time than most giveaways, but it's my supposition that it's worth it. Your time (please, please participate) could make a huge difference for your child's teacher, and by extension, your child, and I think that's a reward in itself. Don't you?

Did you know teachers spend an average of $1200 of their own money on classroom supplies each year? That’s $4 billion annually! That's why OfficeMax joined with Adopt-A-Classroom to create "A Day Made Better"—a national cause event founded to erase teacher-funded classrooms. This year, “A Day Made Better” will take place on October 6 where 1,000 teachers will be surprised in their classrooms each with $1,000 worth of essential supplies from OfficeMax. That’s more than one million dollars donated to help teachers! Principals at needy schools nominated the teachers for demonstrating dedication, innovation, and passion.

To pay-it-forward, OfficeMax and Mom It Forward have teamed up to create awareness about the issue of teacher-funded classrooms and to give you the opportunity to get involved and help a teacher in your community on behalf of the “A Day Made Better.” Here’s how…

Simply nominate a teacher of your choice to win this giveaway by following the entry requirements. Be sure to check out the prize and criteria!

Prize

One exceptional teacher will receive a ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR gift card to OfficeMax. This can go a long way when it comes to classroom supplies!

This is a giveaway that is meant to be given away. What does that mean? You get to nominate a teacher by sharing why this person is exceptional and deserving of this giveaway. The best part, every story told helps raise awareness in an effort to erase teacher-funded classrooms. The winning teacher will be chosen based on the following criteria, so be sure to tell us why your teacher is most deserving:

Dedication: does everything in his/her power to deliver the best possible education for his/her students.

Innovation: thinks outside the box and engages his/her students through creative learning activities & programs.

Passion: expresses a genuine passion for education and shares this enthusiasm in the classroom.

Need: demonstrates a need for essential classroom supplies.

Entry Requirements

To enter your teacher, you are required to do two things.

(Note: post a separate comment for each entry.)

1. Nominate them through a blog post or on Whrrl, OR leave a comment here with your nomination.

Write a post on your blog.

You can include photos, video, etc. but please stay under 400 words or 3 minutes.

Please include these links: http://adaymadebetter.com/ or @adaymadebetter.

Include a link to your post in the comments section.

OR

Create a story on Whrrl.com.

Go to our custom Whrrl page at http://whrrl.com/search?q=omx, click “Start A Story” and upload photos and text about why your teacher is most deserving.

Be sure to include the #omx hashtag in the text of your story.

Post a link to your Whrrl story in the comments section.

OR, leave a comment here with your nomination, keeping in mind this should be of the caliber you'd post on your own blog or through whrrl.

2. Post these messages on Facebook and/or Twitter.

(Note: Be sure to leave comments here with links to your messages.)

Teachers spend avg $1200 of own $$ on school supplies annually! Help erase teacher-funded classrooms. http://bit.ly/3VUNvC PLS RT #omx

Nominate a teacher 2 win $100 in OfficeMax classroom supplies. Enter here: http://www.angiescircus.blogspot.com/ PLS RT #omx

Join the “A Day Made Better” movement to end teacher-funded classrooms at http://bit.ly/UJ3LF #omx

More than 30 sites are participating in this campaign between now and Sunday, October 4. Visit http://momitforward.com/ for a list of all the giveaways! You may enter a different teacher on every site, but you may only win once!

Thanks so much for helping pay-it-forward to teachers in your community! Please join us on Tuesdays, September 22 and 29 from 9 to 11 pm ET for Girls Night Out (#gno) on Twitter if you’d like to meet the team behind the cause: @officemax, @adaymadebetter and @Adopt_Classroom. Hope to see you there!

Fine Print

Entries are due Sunday, October 4 by midnight PDT. No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected by me based on the entry that in my opinion meets the above criteria. OfficeMax, Adopt-A-Classroom and Mom It Forward play no part in choosing the winner of this giveaway. OfficeMax, Adopt-A-Classroom, and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to enter. In a spirit of fairness, my personal friends and family members are also ineligible. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. The winner will be notified and have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the email. If no response is received within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the U.S. 18 years and older.