Free 2 Teach announced today a $75,000 donation from the Madison County Commission, the largest single gift in the nonprofit’s 11-year history. This significant donation will be used to further the mission of Free 2 Teach to support Madison County public school teachers with supplies and resources for their students and classrooms.
In the first three months of the 2022-23 school year, Free 2 Teach has already given away over $800,000 in supplies. On average, teachers leave their monthly shop with $475 in supplies ranging from basics like crayons and paper to furniture and books.
Commission Chairman Dale Strong presented the check to Free 2 Teach Executive Director Alison Kling on Wednesday. “The work that Alison and her team at Free 2 Teach are doing to support teachers in our three public school systems is making an impact not only on our educators, but on our children, classrooms and schools,” says Strong. “Free 2 Teach is a vital nonprofit with a focused mission that we believe in: support teachers and give them what they need so that they can focus on teaching our kids, our future leaders.”
“I am absolutely overjoyed,” says Alison Kling. “This is the largest gift Free 2 Teach has ever received. Students and teachers will benefit from the generosity and vision of Chairman Strong and the entire Commission for years to come. This historic gift allows us to continue to serve area teachers with basic supplies while investing in and expanding our inventory.”
Free 2 Teach plans to use the Commissions’ donation to purchase basic supplies, support store operations, and expand supply offerings based on teacher needs for high-impact lessons including new and state of the art science and technology materials, art supplies and Pre-K resources.
“This extraordinary generosity will have a tremendous impact on our mission to support teachers as well as support our growing and highly motivated organization,” says Kling. “We believe that teachers shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for supplies and that students and their families shouldn’t have to worry about affording basic materials for lessons. This drives everything we do, and we are thrilled to have this level of support from the Commission for this work.”
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Free 2 Teach provides free resources to teachers in Madison County’s three public school systems. These resources are available to more than 3,900 full-time classroom teachers and their 54,000 students, improving the educational experience of children and strengthening the future workforce. For more information go to www.free-2-teach.org. Teachers in Madison County’s three public school systems can schedule their shop by visiting www.free-2-teach.org/teacher. To donate to Free 2 Teach visit www.free-2-teach.org/donate.