Crayons to Classrooms needing school supplies

HELPING OUR COMMUNITY MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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Studies indicate that the average teacher spends between $500 and $1,000 of his or her own money to buy supplies for their students’ needs each school year.

“We know that there are 1,860 under-funded teachers in 79 schools in the greater Dayton area who are striving to serve the educational needs of their students,” says Debra Seger, fund development manager for the Dayton Crayons to Classrooms (DC2C) project. ” Therefore, on the low end, this would equate to $930,000 that these teachers spend.”

That’s one of the important reasons that Crayons to Classrooms is such a terrific idea. It’s a free store for teachers who work at under-funded schools serving children living in poverty in the Miami Valley. The requirement is that the school has 70 percent or more of its students receiving meals through the National School Lunch Program.

The eligible teachers are invited to “shop” for what they need in DC2C’s retail-style store. In partnership with local businesses, individual donors, and community volunteers, DC2C collects and distributes an inventory of donated supplies and surplus products for use in the classroom.

The organization’s vision “is to provide every student in need with tools for success every day, in every way.”

Julie Raiff, an intervention specialist at Belmont High School, says the supplies she gets at the little store are used by her students on a daily basis.

“As a teacher, I am constantly reaching into my own pocket to buy necessary tools and materials to best meet the needs of my unique learners; it gets very expensive over time,” says Raiff. ” I feel as though Crayons to Classrooms has my back and is sharing in my commitment for making education available for our urban youth. Crayons to Classrooms makes it so that no student is in need of a pencil or pen.”

Executive director Steve Rubenstein says donations from individuals and corporations in our community are imperative to keep the shelves of the “store” stocked.

Here are the most-needed items:

The organization also collects gently used items such as children’s books, office supplies, desk accessories, etc.

“We often promote an office clean-up project,” says Seger. “We encourage employees to clean and organize their areas and free the office of clutter.”

Teachers and schools can make use of your unused items such as paper trays, file sorters, desk organizers, hanging folders, staplers, tape dispensers, staples, paper/binder clips and especially leftover paper.

“Teachers use multitudes of paper!” says Seger.

All donations can be dropped off at 1511 Kuntz Road in Dayton. DC2C is located inside the Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley building — look for the door that has a big red and yellow crayon above it.

DC2C is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, contact Deb Seger at (937) 528-6403 or via email at d.seger@dc2c.org.

Monetary donations can be mailed to Dayton Crayons to Classrooms, 1511 Kuntz Road, Dayton, OH 45404-1232 or made securely online by visiting www.dc2c.org. All monetary donations are tax deductible.

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