Lidl grocery stores in metro Atlanta will donate up to $3 million to local high schools with shoppers’ purchases determining how much each school gets, and the schools get to decide how to use the funds.
The “Groceries that Give Back” campaign runs from Sept. 13 through Nov. 7 and will support more than 60 public high schools in Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties along with the Atlanta and Marietta school districts.
Amanda Jones, a Lidl district manager, said the principal of each school can use funds for whatever enrichment activities need the funds most. She said that may be arts programs, clubs, sports or student support services.
“At all high schools, it takes money to put on a program, and there are families that can afford it and families that can’t,” Aaron Lupuloff, director of the Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation, said. He commended the campaign because it doesn’t ask families — who may already struggle to pay for extracurriculars — to use their money in a fundraiser.
Instead of rounding up at the register or being asked to provide donations, shoppers will be able to select a school to support, and their regular grocery purchases will be translated into points. The points a school accrues determines how much Lidl will provide. A school will receive anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000 through the campaign.
“It’s not an additional expenditure on the household,” Pierce White, a Lidl project manager, said. “This is part of your normal week-to-week spend.”
The high schools that will receive funds are all located within a few miles of a Lidl grocery store. All 16 stores in metro Atlanta are participating in the campaign. Along with schools promoting the campaign to their families, stores will have signage encouraging shoppers to participate.
The company anticipates repeating the campaign in the spring with funds going to elementary schools.
Shoppers wanting to participate in the campaign need to sign up for a Lidl account if they are not already a member. Visit hallo.lidl.com/give-back for campaign information and to see Lidl locations. The website also has a list of participating schools and allows shoppers to choose which to support. Shoppers can support any school while shopping at any Lidl location in the metro area.
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