When we think about making an impact, it’s easy to picture the big moments: a packed warehouse, a fully stocked classroom, thousands of supplies ready to make their way into the hands of teachers and students across the country. But impact doesn’t always begin with a grand gesture.

Sometimes, it starts with a family deciding to collect a few school supplies. Sometimes, it’s a teacher discovering a new and unexpected resource in our Minnesota Teacher Resource Center. Sometimes, it’s a few extra cents added onto a restaurant bill. These individual acts of generosity may look different than the traditional idea of making an impact, but they all have something in common — they add up.

Every year, we’re reminded that there is no single way to support teachers and students. There are families who turn giving into traditions, partners who rally their customers and communities and teachers finding support and resources in spaces created just for them.

Each contribution becomes part of something larger — a nation-wide collective effort to make sure classrooms have the tools they need, whenever they need them. And through campaigns like Chipotle’s Round Up for Real Change, everyday purchases become opportunities to contribute to that effort. Every penny, every pack of pencils, every act of generosity adds another piece to something powerful: a community choosing to show up for teachers and students.

Because when it comes to creating equitable learning spaces, there is no one-size-fits-all way to make an impact. There are simply people who see a need and decide to help meet it. And sometimes, the most lasting impact comes from those who keep showing up, year after year.

Seven years ago, Tanya Hartwell and her daughters, Hadly and Harper, had a last-minute idea ahead of the upcoming school year: host a school supply drive out of their home. What began as a simple idea from her daughters quickly became something much more — a newly created family tradition built around generosity, community, and the belief that a little effort can go a long way.

That first year, they collected about $600 worth of school supplies in just one week. With a little more planning each year, that number grew… and grew… and grew, with the Hartwell family having now donated more than $8,200 in supplies to Kids In Need Foundation.

What makes their story especially meaningful is how intentionally accessible they’ve made giving to encourage others to participate. Each summer, the family kicks off their drive mid-July with Harper and Hadly helping spread the word among friends and family, while the family offers several simple ways to participate — from donating cash so the family can shop for high-need items, purchasing supplies through a Target charity registry, or simply dropping donations into a bin on the family’s front porch.

They watch for sales, stretch every dollar they can and with signs outside their home, updates shared through social media and email, and progress toward an annual goal, the family has found a way to make generosity feel simple, accessible, and make giving something their entire family can look forward to.

And that’s the beautiful thing about Tanya’s tradition; it keeps growing. That little last-minute idea from her daughters has become an intentional and continuous act of support.

Hadly and Harper continue to take the lead in coordinating and communicating the drive, their community continues to show up, and thousands of dollars in school supplies continue to make their way into classrooms and help teachers provide students with all the tools they need to learn. It’s a reminder of how impact doesn’t always happen all at once. Sometimes, it happens one box, one family, one year at a time — and when people choose to keep showing up, those small acts of generosity can become a lasting legacy.

The Hartwell Family’s story is one of the many ways support for teachers and students can take shape. From individual families to larger community partnerships, support can meet classrooms in unexpected ways. And sometimes, it can happen with something as simple as rounding up your order by a few cents.

It All Adds Up: Chipotle’s Commitment to Teachers

Chipotle has long been committed to celebrating and supporting teachers, finding meaningful ways to show educators that their dedication is seen and appreciated. In 2025 alone, Chipotle celebrated more than 200,000 teachers and healthcare workers with $2 million in free burritos, bringing its total giving to $16 million since 2016.

That commitment extends to giving guests a way to make an impact, too. Through Round Up for Real Change on Chipotle.com and the Chipotle app, digital guests can round up their order totals to support teachers and students through Chipotle’s partnership with Kids In Need Foundation.

And it all adds up.

Every contribution makes a difference. Every guest who chooses to give becomes part of something larger. Together, those individual acts of generosity have helped raise more than $3 million through the partnership, providing nearly 5,700 teachers and 136,000 students with essential school supplies.

But the impact goes beyond school supplies. It means teachers feeling seen, students feeling prepared, and communities coming together to show educators that their work matters. By combining Chipotle’s longstanding support for educators with the generosity of its guests, thousands of small contributions are adding up to meaningful change for teachers and students across the country.

One Year Later: A Space Built for Educators

One year ago, KINF opened the doors to our new headquarters, nearly tripling the size of our Teacher Resource Center (TRC), a space where educators can access essential classroom supplies and resources at no cost.

The expanded TRC now allows approximately 5,000 teachers to shop each quarter, helping more educators access the supplies they need to prepare their classrooms and support their students throughout the school year. But the expansion was designed to meet more than educators’ classroom needs.

The new headquarters also added three large, flexible conference rooms that can be configured in multiple ways to accommodate professional development sessions, staff meetings, workshops, celebrations and community gatherings. Educators can also host their own events in a comfortable, reliable space equipped with tables, comfortable seating, AV technology and other amenities at no cost.

We saw just how valuable that space could be during the TRC’s opening month. One educator brought together approximately 70 colleagues for a back-to-school gathering. Because her school building did not have air conditioning, the TRC provided something her educators needed just as much as classroom supplies: a comfortable place to come together.

“Having access to a place that has comfortable chairs, great tables, really nice AV resources for us to use for free was such an amazing way to start off our school year.” – Minnesota Principle

Educators were able to gather, enjoy breakfast, focus and prep together, and begin the school year feeling prepared and supported. The response continued after the event, with colleagues sending messages of thanks for connecting them with a space that gave them “time, space, and air conditioning.”

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One year later, the expanded TRC is doing more than helping educators stock their classrooms. It is creating space for educators to connect, collaborate, learn, gather and feel supported.

Help More Students Discover What’s Possible

Every child should have the opportunity to explore, create and believe in what they can achieve. Every teacher should have the resources to turn curiosity into confidence and learning into lasting impact.

Your support helps make those opportunities possible. Together, we can ensure more students walk into classrooms ready to learn, dream and discover their potential.

Give today and help put possibility into the hands of the next generation of learners, creators and leaders.