Building Community 2022 Partner – Teachers Treasures
Each year our employees come together to amplify the impact of a nonprofit partner, improving lives and building community. Our 2022 partner is Teachers’ Treasures.
We are passionate about Teachers’ Treasures’ vision of “All eligible teachers have easy access to free school supplies for their students living in poverty.”
Every day at public, private, charter, and parochial schools located throughout Marion County, children of all ages attend class without the most basic supplies they need to get a good education. Dedicated teachers are often willing to pay for these much-needed supplies out of their own pockets to make sure the kids in their classrooms have the necessary tools to learn. On average, teachers spend $800-$1200 a year on school supplies for their students.
Teachers’ Treasures, in partnership with local businesses, charitable foundations, neighborhood organizations and individual contributors, helps fill this need by operating a volunteer-based “Store for Teachers.” Donated educational supplies and other materials are distributed via this unique conduit to teachers for the benefit of their students. They serve teachers from any school (public, private, charter, or parochial) in Marion County and the immediately surrounding school districts with 60% of more of the student population on the free or reduced lunch programs are eligible.
Volunteering on #GivingTuesday
On Giving Tuesday we had a group of 25 volunteers from across all our divisions come out to work at the Store, stocking shelves, sorting books, assembling toiletry kits, breaking donated supplies into shoppable sizes, and writing notes of encouragement for teachers and students. It was great for our team to see all the different the ways Teacher’s Treasures impacts successful outcomes at Marion County schools.
The average shopping cart at Teachers’ Treasures has about $500 worth of free school supplies and committed to help teachers obtain these necessary supplies, Browning ended our Day of Service with a donation of $10,000 in recognition of our gratitude for our wonderful partners and clients with whom we’ve had the opportunity to build community.
Recognition of Kim Reeves’ Contributions
When you talk about role models at Browning, Kim Reeves is always one of the first you’d think of when it comes to service and using professional skills for the benefit of the community. As part of her engagement with the Teachers’ Treasures Board, Kim put those same development and site skills to work, helping to find the space currently uses as their store and office. In recognition of her 33+ years of service at Browning we chose Teachers’ Treasures for our “Building Community” Partner as her Swan Song.
