CLAY COUNTY – For the 12th year in a row and during an especially urgent time of need, SONIC Drive-In donated an all-time high of $1.3 million to fund public school teacher requests across the country as part of its annual Limeades for Learning Fall Voting Campaign. In partnership with nonprofit teacher crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose and with the help of SONIC fans, they were among the community heroes up-voted to receive donations for essential materials to create an engaging learning environment in both physical and virtual classrooms.

“Celebrating public school teachers through our Fall Voting Campaign feels special every year, but especially this year, as our incredible public school teachers are going the extra mile to keep their students inspired, regardless of where their classroom may be,” said Christi Woodworth, vice president for public relations for SONIC. “From cleaning supplies to humidifiers and technology needs, we were able to fulfill thousands of teachers' wish lists for necessary teaching materials to keep their students safe and learning.”

The following exceptional teachers earned funding for their much-needed learning materials as part of the annual Fall Voting Campaign:

• Four teachers at R.C. Bannerman Learning Center in Green Cove Springs received a total of $1,524. They are: Antonette Walker-Ford for the project "Coffee and Collaboration," Jennifer Allen-Rohr for the project "Critical Thinking and Social-Emotional Learning through LEGO Education," Joan Kingston for the project "Self-Help Workbooks to Become Your Best Self!" and Victoria Tompkins for the project "BLC Bison Incentive Store."

• Two teachers at Doctors Inlet Elementary and one at Wilkinson Elementary received a total of $1,684. They are: Lauren Paine at Doctors Inlet for her projects "Level Up with Reading" and "Pictures...with Words?" and Lorraine Evatt at Wilkinson for the project "Exploring History Through Reading."

• Fifteen teachers in Oakleaf received a total donation at $14,854. They are: Chad Robbins at Oakleaf High for his projects "More Mallets Please!," "Paper and Ink and Staplers, Oh My!" and "Spectacular Sabres;" Jeanette Burley at Oakleaf Junior High for her projects "Chrome Covered" and "Chrome Covered 2;" Karen Whitten at Oakleaf Junior High for the project "Balanced Science;" Michael Summers at Oakleaf Junior High for his projects "More Music for Band," "Music Made Just For Us!" and "Ring the Bells for Band!;" Angela Brown of Oakleaf Village Elementary for her projects "Looking Through the Scope of a Magazine!" and "Scholastic Storyworks Magazine;" Brad Smith of Oakleaf Village Elementary for his projects "Chromebooks for Sixth" and "Chromebooks for Sixth, Part 2;" Caroline Hellman of Oakleaf Village Elementary for the project "Interventions to Make Learning Fun!;" Courtney Tindel at Oakleaf Village Elementary for the project "Classroom Technology to Navigate Our New Normal;" Gina Roundtree of Oakleaf Village Elementary for her projects "Hands-On Learning During COVID" and "Hot Dots and a Chromebook;" Krystal Mason of Oakleaf Village Elementary for her projects "Chromebook Cart and Supplies for Fifth" and "Chromebook Cart for 5th;" Marla Teal of Oakleaf Village Elementary for the project "Taking the Kids to the Big Screen;" Maureen Devine at Oakleaf Village Elementary for her projects "Books to Hook and Charging Devices" and "Subscriptions for STEM Learning;" Michelle Levinson at Oakleaf Village Elementary for the project "Art in the Village!;" Paula Summers at Oakleaf Village Elementary School for her projects "Specdrums for STEAM Fun!," "Specdrums for STEAM Fun, Part 2" and "Specdrums for STEAM Fun, Part 3;" and Stanley Abramowich at Oakleaf Village Elementary for the project "Chromebooks for Kids."

Since 2009, SONIC has donated $17.9 million, supported more than 26,500 classrooms, and provided necessary learning materials and teaching resources requested by teachers to impact more than 5.6 million students in partnership with DonorsChoose.