Newark School Raising Money To Restock Popular Student Lounge

NEWARK, NJ — In the past few years, New Jersey residents have been turning to online fundraising to raise money for a variety of crucial needs, including health care. The crowdfunding trend is also taking place in the state’s education system – including Newark.

The vice principal at Speedway Avenue Elementary School in Newark recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to help replenish items at the school’s popular student lounge. Learn more or make a donation here.

According to the campaign:

“Hi, my name is Kelvin Henry. I am an educator at Speedway Elementary School. Last year you helped us launch our 6-8 grade middle school lounge, this year we simply need to replenish the items. Please support us in these efforts. This lounge serves as a safe space for students to spend time when they need to decompress, as well a space for them to use as an incentive for positive behavior.”

The online fundraising campaign at Speedway isn’t the only one taking place in New Jersey’s education system this year. A growing wave of Garden State teachers and administrators have been turning to platforms like GoFundMe to raise money for back-to-school efforts.

As GoFundMe spokespeople noted:

“According to a recent survey by the Association of American Educators, teachers spend an average of $673 each, per year, to outfit their classroom. GoFundMe continues to see growth in fundraising for K-12 classrooms, with more than a 20% increase in fundraisers for the cause in the past three years.”

More than $24 million dollars was raised for K-12 teachers and their classrooms on GoFundMe in 2023 alone, spokespeople said.

• See Related: Meet 10 NJ Families Who Had To Crowdfund For Health Care

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