Free 2 Teach

We are so excited to launch our NEW website, designed by Ad4! Group!! This site is such a fun, fresh and colorful representation of who we are as an organization. Go to www.free2teach.org to check it out! We will be highlighting some of our favorite pages this week and we hope that you love it as much as we do. Thank you to Molly Jones Photography, Jeff White Photographer and Marty Bibee Photography for your beautiful photos and videos that tell our story so well!

At our press conference highlighting our new partnership with Meta's?Huntsville Data Center, Heather Cleckler, a 2nd-6th grade special education teacher at Madison County Elementary School, gave an incredible speech about the impact of Free 2 Teach on her work as an educator, sharing: "The generosity of this donation will impact the lives of students, present and future." A few highlights from her brilliant speech: "Free 2 Teach has been a beacon of support since I started shopping with them in 2012. From basic supplies and poster board to furniture and science supplies, I have scoured the shelves of Free 2 Teach to ensure that my students have the materials they need to learn and have the robust learning experiences they deserve. Free 2 Teach has changed the landscape of learning for my students. A costume of a soldier in the constitutional army brought a fifth-grade history lesson to life in October. A box of poster board allowed students to make posters for veterans to line our hallways during our Veterans Day program last week. Hundreds of index cards made it possible for individual students to make their own study deck for math vocabulary. Student Ambassadors decorate boxes with holiday decorations for our annual food drive. A student who just passed a new level in a reading intervention beams as she holds her certificate printed in colored-card stock paper. These opportunities are just a small glimpse of the activities that are available because of Free 2 Teach. Free 2 Teach bridges the gap to ensure that teachers and free to teach and students are free to learn. I have no doubt there is a monetary value we can put on these supplies, but there is no number to quantify the higher self-esteem, improved self-image and better outcomes a student will experience who has everything they need the moment they arrive. These supplies can be a gateway to a promising school year." Thank you Heather, for these powerful words and perspective. Thank you Henry Thornton and the entire Meta team for this gift – we are excited for the work ahead to impact more teachers like Mrs. Cleckler!

We will serve 57 teachers this afternoon! Your support makes an impact: filling carts with supplies and lesson resources that will make a difference for kids, outcomes and futures. When you sign up for our monthly giving program, The Crayon Club, you join a growing group of friends of Free 2 Teach who commit to partnering with us in this work. Go to www.free2teach.org for more info!

Let’s talk ??? FURNITURE??. Since opening our doors for the 24-25 school year, we have given away $21,100 in classroom furniture to our teachers. Bonus: 100% of these items were donated by the community. We give away rolling chairs, small desks, filing cabinets, small bookcases, white boards and more. Thank you!! This is a powerful component of our model: sourcing gently used items and distributing them at our free store. This ensures teachers do not have to pay out of pocket or use precious class funds to access these higher priced items. If you have small chairs, desks etc, let us know! Email Ryan with questions or to set up a drop-off time at [email protected] ??????

Listen for the joy!!!! At Free 2 Teach we aren’t just working to level the playing field, but ELEVATE it. We work to source and purchase high quality books, resources and more, so that teachers can create an environment of excellence and enrichment for every child they work with. Every teacher who walks through our doors leaves with more items and more ideas for what is possible. At every shop, we see moments like this: so much joy, support and collaboration. Thank you to our amazing community for trusting us with your support, making moments like this one possible. ??????

Teachers make a profound impact on children across our public schools every single day. They go above and beyond for our kids. Thank you for partnering with us so that we can go above and beyond for teachers! ??

??Thank you Monte Sano Research Corporation for donating 800 backpacks this year! ?? We give these to our teachers so that they have them on hand to help students in need. A story from Ms. Ingwersen illustrates your impact in action: “I have a student whose house burned down this week and I want you to know that the first thing that she did is come to my classroom and we packed a full backpack for her. She knows I come to Free 2 Teach and she knows I would have everything she would need. This is why coming here is so important to me and to my students. Thank you.” ?????? Thank you!

We are so thankful for the support of Representative Andy Whitt this year! Equipping and encouraging teachers across 88 public schools is a team effort, and we are so glad to have you as part of the Free 2 Teach family. Rep. Whitt is pictured with our Program Coordinator, Ryan Bier, at the store just before we opened for teacher shopping. Thank you! ????????

We are serving 56 teachers today including Turquoise Tucker, a fourth grade teacher at Lakewood Elementry. “Coming here is Christmas every month. I don’t know if I can put it into words. Free 2 Teach is just..everything. I come every month, every month. It’s everything. Thank you.” Mrs. Tucker left with $1,223.75 in supplies and resources including 65 books!!! Thank you to everyone who makes it Christmas for teachers, every single month.

We are excited to announce a new partnership with Club for the Future at Blue Origin!! Our goal is to get high-quality, high-impact STEM lessons and resources into the hands of our teachers for their students. To kick things off, we sharing a Huntsville Teacher Exclusive from The Club: a fun, free experience for your students to send a postcard to space! (One student and one teacher will be entered to win a tour of the Blue Origin facility here in Huntsville if you submit by October 15th!) 1. Go to The Club for the Future Digital Postcard site: https://lnkd.in/ebyDkwMH 2. Have your students design their postcard from this prompt: “Imagine you are an engineer: design your very own rocket engine!” 2. After your students have completed their design, they can click “Send to Space” and enter their teacher’s email. 3. The Club will fly your postcard on a future New Shepard mission and share it on the postcard gallery to inspire others!