A realtor’s viral campaign to help teachers in need

By day, Amanda Jenson is a realtor — hard at work selling homes, but after the realtor appointments are done, her focus shifts.

“I am a realtor and an Amazon wish list, putting on Google Docs person in the evening,” said Jenson.

It was something she started about five years ago, creating a platform for teachers to submit their classroom wish lists for the upcoming school year.

“It’s something that I’ve done every single year. I post on social media, 'hey, give me your Amazon wish list,'” said Jenson.

She typically gets about three to five lists submitted by local teachers, and each year they are always filled.

“Sometimes we would fill them, sometimes my husband and I, sometimes just family and friends, or I would pass them out and post them on social media, and they would get cleared,” said Jenson.

About two weeks ago, Jenson made her normal social media post extending her offer to help teachers.

“This year it exploded. Within thirty minutes, I had one hundred and nineteen comments on one of my social media platforms, and by the next morning, it had grown to three hundred and thirty-five,” said Jenson.

And the list continues to grow every day.

“I think we are sitting at seven hundred and seventeen on the list right now, all across America. Every state, even Canada, and we’ve got some Puerto Rico's in there, we’re everywhere,” said Jenson.

She sees the economy as the reason for the demand.

“With the economy the way that it is, we have a lot of people juggling things, and teachers are like, I need help,” said Jenson.

Through Amazon, the shoppers can select items and send them directly to the teachers, eliminating the middleman.

“I just want to help as many teachers as I possibly can,” said Jenson.

To see the list visit http://stan.store/amandaj_realtor