The concept is simple. Jackie and her all-volunteer staff collect "new and gently used" classroom supplies-everything from crayons and computers to copy paper and carpet squares-and offer them to Delaware County educators at no cost. The materials come from a variety of donors. Some are teachers who have retired, changed grade levels or simply like the idea of sharing resources with their peers. Others are local business owners who are clearing their shelves and pruning their inventories. "When Jim Davis brought in a number of Garfield items, I asked our liaison teachers in each of the school buildings to post a notice in the faculty lounges," explains Jackie. The response from the field was quick; Garfield's likeness soon decorated several area classrooms.
The store's goal is to recycle $1 million worth of material back into the schools and keep it out of the landfill. Just as the project benefits the environment, so does it ease the budgets of local school corporations that it serves. Grant money and cash donations from the general public allow the store to purchase new, consumable products - paper, pencils, glue sticks - in bulk. Teachers can pick up lesson plans and then shop for supplies to implement the plans. As an example, "a retired music teacher brought us all the costumes and accessories she had accumulated in her 28 years of creating skits and programs," says Jackie.
The store, made available by Marsh Supermarkets, is located at 1803 W. Purdue Ave. and is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Teachers come in search of different items depending on the time of year. New teachers often stop and shop immediately after signing their first contracts in the summer. Their goal: Colorful supplies to decorate their classrooms. The first week of school is the busiest of all, of course. "This year we had a traffic jam in the aisles," says Jackie. "We kept running out of carts." After second semester gets under way and ISTEP tests are behind them, teachers often come in search of arts and crafts supplies. At the end of the year, boxes and other storage containers are in demand.
To ensure that the store always has at least three volunteers on hand to help shoppers, Jackie has devised a sort of incentive plan. In return for completing a four-hour shift, a volunteer can earn a shopping trip, which the volunteer can use herself or can pass on in the form of a redeemable gift card. In this way, home-schooling parents, teachers at private schools and the staffs at vacation Bible schools can access the free classroom materials. Yet another idea that Jackie is promoting is what she calls "Adopt a Day." Since the store is open 12 days a month, she would like 12 organizations to agree to supply the staff for the same day each month. Afternoon shifts are particularly important because "that's when the teachers shop," she explains.
A year after opening its doors, the Back to School Teachers' Store is more successful than even its founder envisioned. "Our major concern now is that we're receiving so many donations that we may outgrow this building," says Jackie. Then she adds, "but that's really a nice problem to have."
