Sam’s Club awarded 20 Pioneer Elementary School teachers with $50 reward cards to purchase classroom supplies that will help students start the school year off right.

As part of the Teacher Rewards program, the local educators were honored during an recent award ceremony.

In its fourth year, Teacher Rewards will have donated 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. Thee 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.

“I would like to thank Sam’s Club for supporting the community in this way,” said Debra Gary, Pioneer Elementary School principal. “Pioneer teachers all enjoyed and appreciated the lovely breakfast that was supplied. I was excited for them to be recognized and rewarded for their hard work and dedication to students.”

More than 4,600 U.S. Walmart stores, Distribution Centers and Sam’s Club locations are eligible to select one local kindergarten through eighth grade public school and provide reward 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,” Tonya Clark, Sam’s Club community involvement director. “At Sam’s Club®, 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 the Walmart Foundation made a historic 2 billion dollar commitment to help end hunger in America, which includes support for backpack, summer and after-school feeding programs for kids. In 2011, Walmart and its Foundation donated more than $50 million to fund education programs across the country.