Teach For America Partners with Gap Inc. to Raise Funds for Educational Equity

Company to Donate Proceeds from Spring Promotion to Support National Teacher Corps

SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2009—Teach For America announced today that it will partner with Gap Inc. through its “Give & Get” program to raise funds to support Teach For America’s mission to expand educational opportunity. Teach For America is the national corps of top college graduates who commit to teach for at least two years in underserved schools and become lifelong advocates of educational equity.

Teach For America is one of six nonprofit organizations that will partner with Gap Inc. during its upcoming “Give & Get” promotion. For four days in March, Gap Inc. will provide its employees and a group of select customers with a 30 percent discount. Gap Inc. will donate 5 percent of the total “Give & Get” sales to the six nonprofits, with customers and employees deciding which nonprofit they would like to support. The discount can be shared with friends and family so that their purchases during the promotion will further support the selected nonprofit.

“Through the work of our corps members and alumni, we see evidence every day that the achievement gap in our country is a solvable problem, and that widespread, lasting change in education is possible,” said Kevin Huffman, executive vice president of public affairs at Teach For America. “In the current economic environment, it’s more important than ever that all of our children have access to the educational opportunities that will enable them to fulfill their potential. We’re grateful for the support of the ‘Give & Get’ program, which will help us continue to make an impact on the educational outcomes of hundreds of thousands of children today and in the future.”

Teach For America will use the funds raised through the “Give & Get” promotion to support its ongoing efforts to recruit, train, and provide professional development for new teachers in urban and rural public schools across the country.

“Teach For America provides many of our nation’s underprivileged communities with some of the best and brightest young teachers,” said Bobbi Silten, Gap Foundation’s chief foundation officer. “All of us at Gap Inc. are proud to support essential nonprofit organizations like Teach For America, especially during these challenging times when they need our support most.”

In addition to Teach For America, other nonprofit partners in Gap Inc.’s March promotion include Feeding America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Global Fund, and World Wildlife Fund. The “Give & Get” initiative has raised $4.3 million to date for partnering nonprofits.

To learn more about the “Give & Get” promotion and to register your “Give & Get” support for Teach For America, please visit www.gapgiveandget.com/np/tfa.html.

About Teach For America
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for at least two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. This year, 6,200 corps members are teaching in over 1,600 schools in 29 regions across the country while more than 14,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.