Back to school season is in full swing, and stores are flooding the market with campaigns for new pencils, calculators, lunchboxes, and first-day-of-school outfits.

But, as school budgets decrease, the burden of filling backpacks and classrooms with new supplies increasingly falls on parents, students and teachers. A recent survey by the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 94 percent of teachers used their own money to purchase supplies for their classrooms, at an average cost of $479. For teachers in underserved communities, the average amount spent was $554. (And to make things more challenging, the government only allows teachers to deduct up to $250 for supplies.)

In 2016, the average salary for a public school teacher was $58,353, and more than half the states in the U.S. are below the national average. Strapped for funding, many teachers must work multiple jobs or turn to crowdfunding to cover the cost of back to school supplies.

Several socially responsible companies are coming to the rescue with these A+ campaigns to help students and teachers stock up for the new school year.

Back to school supplies drives

This summer, Walmart stores across the country partnered with local schools, organizations, and companies to host “Stuff the Bus” supplies drives. Community volunteers and Walmart associates passed out lists of in-demand school supplies to incoming shoppers and encouraged them to make donations. Yellow school buses parked outside the stores highlighted the goal to fill it with donations for undeserved schools. From its annual “Ready for School Backpack-A-Thon” drive in Boston, the nonprofit Cradles to Crayons will distribute 60,000 backpacks to communities in need across Massachusetts this fall, 20,000 of which came from a drive hosted in partnership with Staples.

Back to school savings

To help teachers save money on classroom supplies, several retailers are offering coupons and discounts during the back to school season. Staples is hosting Teacher Appreciation Days at stores throughout the country with special savings and a free kits of samples. Teachers can enter to win $500 worth of supplies for their classroom by snapping a selfie with the sample kit and using #StaplesLovesTeachers and #Sweepstakes on Twitter and Instagram. Target also offered a 15 percent discount on back to school shopping for teachers. Barnes & Noble is hosting Educator Appreciation Days every weekend in August with special discounts at stores nationwide, in addition to their year-round 20 percent discount for educators.

Big back to school winnings

Teachers work hard and companies are rewarding them with contests for prizes to treat themselves and their students. Rack Room Shoes launched its Real Teacher of the Year contest this summer. Parents and guardians can nominate a favorite teacher by answering the question, “How does/did your favorite teacher encourage your child or you to be you?” Winning teachers will receive free shoes for a year and a $10,000 computer lab grant for technology upgrades in their classroom.

Many companies also have foundations or grant programs to support schools. For example, Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grants program helps teachers and schools fund projects in technology, STEM programs, facility renovations and safety improvements.

Volunteering in the classroom

Many education nonprofits offer hands-on opportunities for corporations to get involved with their local schools. For example, Playworks, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing safe and healthy access to play, has plenty of partnership opportunities for corporate groups to volunteer on the playground, serve as mentors, or transform a playground. At Playworks New England, employees from New Balance volunteer during recess at Lawrence Schools, and employees at Brown Brothers Harriman serve as corporate coaches to mentor elementary school students.

You can earn some extra credit too this back to school season by getting involved with a local charity collecting school supplies or volunteering at an education nonprofit. See you in school!