Walmart Lehighton recently awarded 20 teachers at Shull David Elementary School, Lehighton, with $50 reward cards to purchase classroom supplies that will help students start the school year off right.

This is the fourth year, Teacher Rewards will donate up to $4.5 million to provide 90,000 teachers across the United States with reward cards that will help offset the cost of classroom expenses.These funds come at a critical time, as the majority of U.S. teachers going back to school will spend their own money to ensure their students have the supplies they need to learn throughout the school year.More than 4,600 U.S. Walmart stores, Distribution Centers and Sam's Clubs locations are eligible to select one local kindergarten through eighth grade public school and provide rewards cards to 20 teachers from the selected school. Winning teachers can use the funds to purchase essential items for their classrooms such as paper, folders, binders, clipboards, pens, pencils, crayons and markers."We are proud to honor our community's teachers, who give time and often their own money to ensure our students have everything they need to be successful throughout the school year," said Girvin Janicki, Lehighton Walmart store manager. "At Walmart, we are dedicated to supporting our nation's teachers by providing them with the support and resources needed to continue educating the future leaders of our country."The Teacher Rewards program is an extension of Walmart's ongoing support of education initiatives that help students better prepare for their future. In 2010, Walmart and Walmart's Foundation made a historic $2 billion commitment to help end hunger in America. which includes support for backpack, summer and afterschool feeding programs for kids. In 2011, Walmart and its Foundation donated more than $50 million to fund education programs across the country.