Staples adds Jonas juice to student initiative

Staples is injecting a little bit of boy band starpower into its latest promotion aimed on supporting education.

The retailer is building on its decades-long support of teachers, students and education with a $10 million pledge to support Think It Up,a program launched by the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Think IT Up is a new movement created to inspire students to pursue their passions through student-powered, teacher-led learning projects with support from Staples for Students.

"Through our Staples for Students program, we're thrilled to build on our rich history of supporting education by pledging $10 million to Think It Up," said Alison Corcoran, senior vice president, North American Stores and Online, Staples. "Now more than ever, we need to support our students and teachers to spark great learning. We're raising awareness of this new initiative and encouraging people to recognize the importance of education and support success in the classroom."

As a lead donor, Staples has teamed up with recording artist, actor and Think It Up Ambassador Nick Jonas to help raise awareness of the need to support learning projects in classrooms across the country. Jonas appears in a Public Service Announcement that was revealed today. The public awareness campaign encourages students to collaborate with their teachers on projects that will help innovate their classroom experience.

"I'm excited to serve as the Think It Up Ambassador and team up with Staples to empower students and teachers across the country," said Nick Jonas. "Through Think It Up, we can all help students play a more active role in their education. We should all follow our passions to create our futures."

Customers can help support Think It Up by donating at their local Staples store.

Most teachers spend more than $400 of their own money each year to provide supplies and materials for their classrooms and many students do not have the access to the equipment or tools they need. Beginning this fall through Think It Up, students will be able to work with their teachers to identify passion projects for their classrooms. Through this collaborative learning process, student-powered, teacher-led projects will be crowdfunded on Thinkitup.org, which is fueled by DonorsChoose.org.

"We believe that the future of our country rests in the hands of our youth and we need to provide them with the tools to succeed. Think It Up is a movement designed to ignite students with excitement to discover and create impactful learning experiences with the support of their teachers. We are beyond thrilled to be able to count Staples and Nick Jonas as supporters of the initiative," said Lisa Paulsen, president and chief executive officer of EIF.

"We are honored to be the engine that is capturing and fulfilling the passion projects students create with their teachers. At DonorsChoose.org, we know how creative students can be in the classroom. Our partnership with Think It Up and Staples for Students will provide students the access and funding for the resources and experiences they will value the most," said Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org.

Starting on July 12, fans can enter the #StaplesforStudents Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $50,000 scholarship and a VIP Red Carpet Experience. Fifty lucky winners will fly to Los Angeles with a friend to attend a star-studded Think It Up event. Winners will receive a VIP package which includes walking the red carpet, front row view of celebrities as they arrive, VIP tickets to the event and VIP after-party passes. One lucky grand prize winner will win the VIP Red Carpet Experience and a $50,000 scholarship.

Fans can visit staplesforstudents.org on July 12 to learn about different ways to earn entries and increase chances of winning, including making an in-store purchase, sending a tweet, signing up for e-mail and more.