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There is at least one silver lining to the recession cloud we are pushing through. It allows citizens, parents, teachers, employees, managers, business owners, parking lot operators, police chiefs and everyone to identify what is important, what is mandatory, what is necessary, what is critical right now.
Published March 2, 2009
There is at least one silver lining to the recession cloud we are pushing through. It allows citizens, parents, teachers, employees, managers, business owners, parking lot operators, police chiefs and everyone to identify what is important, what is mandatory, what is necessary, what is critical right now.
Those individuals and enterprises that can do that and act accordingly will not only survive the recession, but will emerge as stronger, more focused people, businesses, agencies, schools, departments, etc. It involves providing basic school supplies for children in public schools in the Trident region.
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| Deborah Halon |
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| Dorothy Harrison |
There are a few services, interests and benefits that most of us find important, mandatory necessary and critical that are outside the scope of an individual or one company or public agency. One of these is education. We are all aware that our education systems are struggling with school consolidations, learning approaches and improved evaluation techniques. Those are certainly factors improving education and focusing on critical issues, but there is another, perhaps more immediate need.
Every day pupils arrive in their classrooms without basic school supplies. They arrive without pencils, paper and erasers, let alone washable markers, glue sticks, crayons, Kleenex and hand sanitizers. This is a critical need that needs addressing now. Each teacher receives a $275 annual stipend to buy supplies that cost approximately $125 per student per year. Since a typical teacher has 15-20 students, he or she is facing a shortfall of around $2,000. Without these basic school supplies much less learning takes place.
Teachers Supply Closet is a non-profit organization that provides free school supplies to teachers in the Trident region who teach at schools with 95% of students enrolled in a free or reduced lunch program. We hope to expand to serve teachers at schools with 70% or more of students’ families face economic challenges. Teachers Supply Closet is a “store” where teachers shop at no cost.
To stock our store we need new and gently used school, art and office supplies as well as excess inventory, trade show and outdated products that can be used in teaching and learning. We need cash donations to support distribution and administrative services to operate the store. We are located at 1401Sam Rittenberg Boulevard in Charleston and have selected dates for teachers in our targeted schools to “shop” for their supplies.
For this effort to succeed, we need donated school supplies on an ongoing basis. Donate as a business, as a family, as an office, as a department or a club or a bowling team or an individual.
To help provide the basics for our children, call us at 225-9895, visit www.teacherssupplycloset.org or view our video on YouTube.
Deborah Halon and Dorothy Harrison are the chief executive officer and president of the Teachers’ Supply Closet, respectively.
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