DALLAS, Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Back-to-school can be an exhilarating time – parents are busy preparing their children for a new school year, while teachers are trying to prepare both their minds and their rooms for a new group of students. But with nearly every state receiving less funding per student than before the recession hit*, making ends meet is becoming increasingly more difficult. For three lucky schools, back-to-school just got a little bit easier. Kleenex brand is pleased to announce that Greenville Middle School (Greenville, Wis.), Reardan Elementary School (Reardan, Wash.) and St. Paul's Lutheran School (Fulton, Md.) are the grand prize winners of the Kleenex Brand Ultimate Reason to List sweepstakes. Each school will receive a $15,000 donation to be used toward educational needs such as school equipment, books, supplies and more, along with a year's supply of Kleenex Facial Tissue, to kick the 2014-2015 school year off right.

"I was shocked to learn that we were one of the winners of the sweepstakes, and I am so excited about the opportunities it will create for our students," said Travis Lawrence, principal of Greenville Middle School. "Over the past several years, we have had to tighten our bootstraps as budgets have tightened.  As a result, there are some things that we would like, however, are unable to buy and support over time. This money will allow us to purchase items we haven't been able to in the past and provide a better education for our students, especially in the area of technology."

The sweepstakes, which launched last May on TeacherLists.com, was a continuation of last year's highly successful program in which teachers, school administrators and parent volunteers were educated about the benefits of adding Kleenex Facial Tissue – strong enough to help keep stuff off of hands and the only facial tissue that participates in the Box Tops for Education™ program – to school lists. More than 46,000 classroom lists added Kleenex Facial Tissue this year, up from 21,000 in 2013. Three winning schools were selected at random from more than 2,000 entrants. In addition to the award, Kleenex brand will host a pep rally at each school to celebrate the win.

"We saw an overwhelmingly positive response to the sweepstakes, even more so in year two in which we saw a 120 percent increase in sweepstakes entries," said Anna Elledge, Kleenex brand manager. "It has become evident that back-to-school initiatives, like the sweepstakes and our partnership with Box Tops for Education, have become increasingly important as more and more schools struggle to make ends meet, and we look forward to supporting healthy kids and healthy schools for many years to come."

As the only facial tissue that participates in Box Tops for Education, Kleenex brand has donated more than $16MM to schools nationwide since 2006. Schools can benefit from Box Tops year-round, simply by clipping Box Tops from the participating products.Box Tops can be found on popular Kleenex brand products, including 160-count and 210-count everyday tissue, Kleenex brand 112-count Anti-Viral Tissue and Kleenex Hand Towels.

Visit www.Kleenex.com to learn more about its back-to-school initiatives.

About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No.1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 141-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About Box Tops for Education
America's schools have earned more than $640 million through the Box Tops for Education™ program since the program started in 1996, including $80 million in the 2013-2014 school year alone. More than 90,000 schools use that cash to purchase items such as computers, library books, art supplies and playground equipment. Schools can earn up to $20,000 by clipping Box Tops from more than 240 products. 
To learn more and for a list of participating products, visit www.btfe.com . Facebook at  www.facebook.com/BoxTopsforEducation , Twitter at www.twitter.com/BTFE and Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/Boxtops .  

About TeacherLists.com
Launched in 2012 by the parent involvement experts at School Family Media, Inc., TeacherLists.com is the largest and fastest-growing web service connecting parents to their kids' school supply and teacher wish lists. Completely free for all, TeacherLists.com is making Back-to-School easier, faster and smarter for parents, teachers, schools and all those who have to find and use these lists every school year. TeacherLists.com is committed to encouraging and helping teachers and parents to work together to make classrooms great for students. TeacherLists.com .

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SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corp.