It's pretty easy to see that poverty is a cycle that's hard to break. The donations you collect will help kids who want to learn and can't afford the basic school supplies they need to succeed.

1. What is the Poverty Line, anyway? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it's a family of four (two adults, two children) that earns less than $19,157.
2. Still, $35,000 is basic-needs budget for a U.S. family of four (two adults, two children), as calculated in An Atlas of Poverty in America.
3. In 2006, nearly 37 million people Americans lived in poverty; 12.8 million were under the age of 18.
4. In the US, poverty is still tied to race: 33% of black children live below the poverty line while 10% of white children do.
5. School budgets are tied to property taxes. This is why schools in poor neighborhoods get about half as much money per student than schools in affluent neighborhoods.
6. Three-quarters of the nation's schools (almost 60,000) report needing repairs, renovations or modernization in order to reach good condition.
7. Not surprisingly, most schools in bad condition are in cities where at least 70% of students are below the poverty line.
8. Urban students are less likely to graduate than their suburban counterparts. In 2004, the overall graduation rate for urban districts was 60.4% compared to 74.9% in suburbs.
9. Graduation rates are also lower among certain groups, particularly ethnic minorities and males. In 2004, the graduation rate among African-Americans was 53.4% compared to 76.2% for whites.
10. In 2004, 17 of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50%, with the lowest rates reported in Detroit (24.9%), Indianapolis (30.5%) and Cleveland (34.1%).
11. Children of poor families are up to six times more likely to drop out than wealthy children.