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New store provides free school supplies

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Staff

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

This Saturday, the first Chapel Hill-Carrboro teacher supply store providing free classroom materials to district teachers will open its doors.

The store – a joint effort by the Public School Foundation and the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club – provides teachers with $100 vouchers, which they can use for free supplies at the store.

According to Allison Worthy, vice president of the Public School Foundation, the foundation surveyed teachers and parents and found that teachers spend their own money on classroom supplies and often need supplies donated by parents.

The teacher supply store will be staffed entirely by volunteers and will be located in a donated space in Dawson Hall on Vilcom Circle.
“We really tried to keep our costs down so we could provide as much free stuff to teachers as possible,” Worthy said.
The store will be stocked with supplies provided at a discounted cost by Staples and Sea of Learning.

To determine what supplies should be available through the store, the Public School Foundation surveyed teachers of different grade levels.
“We were able to sort of zero in on items that were most needed,” Worthy said.

In the store’s first stage, it will provide classroom materials for kindergarten and first- and second-grade teachers. The store will add supplies for additional grade levels after the first stage is complete.

According to Worthy, the foundation and the rotary club have been planning the store since last summer.

“This was really an outgrowth of a strategic planning process that the Public School Foundation underwent last year,” Worthy said. “One of the components of the plan was to partner with other organizations in the community … to best serve the community.”

After the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club expressed interest in partnering with the foundation, foundation officials presented the club with several ideas.

“They really loved the [supply store] idea and said they would love to participate in it,” Worthy said.

The East Chapel Hill Rotary Club provided $10,000 to fund the project, which was modeled after a program in Durham Public Schools. Parents, foundation members and rotary club members have volunteered time to help with the store’s launch, Worthy said.

For the store’s first stage, 128 teachers have been invited to select free supplies.

“As is the case with all new ventures, we’re excited and a little nervous,” Worthy said.

To contribute to the store, contact the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation at 968-8819 or send a check to the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club at P.O. Box 2254, Chapel Hill, NC, 27515.

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