Tyson Foods Partners with DonorsChoose.org To Support Teachers With $1 million Investment

Springdale, Ark. – July 16, 2018 – As part of Tyson Foods’ (NYSE: TSN) commitment to support its plant communities, the company announced today it will fund $1 million in DonorsChoose.org projects for 46 school districts in 37 Tyson communities. The investment will bring much-needed resources to schools in Tyson communities and introduce teachers to a source of potential support for future projects.

Between August 1, 2019 and January 29, 2020, Tyson will fully fund projects posted by teachers in qualifying Tyson school districts who request up to $1,000 in classroom resources. Funding will be applied towards projects the first Monday of every month, up to $26,388 for each plant community. $50,000 has been allocated for the Springdale, Arkansas, school district, where the company’s headquarters is located.

“We have a responsibility to support our communities in a variety of ways, including equipping our teachers with the resources they need as an effective way to support education,” said Debra Vernon, senior director, corporate social responsibility, Tyson Foods. “Through the DonorsChoose.org model teachers can focus on the individual needs of their classrooms and students can experience new or better ways to learn.”

To qualify for full funding, projects will need to be $1,000 or less, for Pre-K-12 and in Tyson districts*.

"We're so grateful for the generosity of Tyson Foods," said DONORSCHOOSE.ORG founder Charles Best. "As teachers across Tyson communities gear up for the school year ahead and use DONORSCHOOSE.ORG to request resources for their classroom, this support will help bring those classroom dreams to life."

The company’s first collaboration with DonorsChoose.org came in 2018, when $150,000 WAS AWARDED TO TEACHERS IN GIBSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE, where last year the company broke ground on a new chicken processing facility. The response by teachers was so strong the full funding was awarded in only 45 days.

“The grant I received for my classroom will help teach students for multiple years and I’m just so thankful to Tyson Foods,” said Jessica Roehs, 5th grade math teacher at South Gibson County Middle School. “The website was very easy to use, and I highly recommend any teacher that is eligible to apply for a grant to do so.”

*School districts in the following Tyson foods communities are eligible to request funding for projects through DonorsChoose.org beginning August 1:

About Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods, Inc., (NYSE: TSN) is one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells®, ibp®, and State Fair®. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it’s available and raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company had 121,000 team members at September 29, 2018. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit TYSONFOODS.COM.

About DonorsChoose.org

DONORSCHOOSE.ORG is the leading platform for giving to public schools. Teachers across America use the site to create projects requesting resources their students need, and donors give to the projects that inspire them. Since its founding by a Bronx teacher in 2000, more than 3.7 million people and partners have given $840 million to projects reaching 34 million students. Unique among crowdfunding platforms, the DONORSCHOOSE.ORG team vets each project request and ships resources directly to the school. Every donor receives photos of their project in action, thank-yous from the classroom, and a cost report showing how every dollar was spent. DonorsChoose. org was the first charity to make the top 10 on Fast Company's list of the Most Innovative Companies in the World. Visit WWW.DONORSCHOOSE.ORG to learn more.