Twenty-five teachers from the Round Lake community waited eagerly for a back-to-school surprise at the Hawthorn Center JCPenney store in Vernon Hills on Tuesday evening.

When Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson strolled through the front doors, cheers erupted through the shoe section where they all gathered.

“Not only does he care about winning for the Bears,” said Michael Uhl, an English teacher at Round Lake middle school, “he cares about important matters such as education and giving back to the community.”

Robinson helped JCPenney surprise the teachers with a $200 shopping spree at the department store. For most of these teachers, this will be the only money they spend on themselves to head back to school.

“When people think about going back to school, they automatically think about the students,” Robinson said. “Which, don’t get me wrong, it’s a tremendous part about it. I think the teachers are as well. You want teachers to want to go to school each and every day excited to interact with their students and educate their students.”