As schools re-open across the US, our colleagues in Houston and Austin joined forces to sponsor two local teachers by hosting office 50/50 raffles. Many children attending inner city schools are first generation immigrants with parents who work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
While for many schools, the teaching materials required in the classroom are not provided and the burden of this expense falls on the individual teacher. The raffle profits will support these teachers by funding essential classroom materials.
Jacqueline Garcia, CSR Champion and Office Manager in Houston created the Adopt a Teacher initiative as education is close to her heart, she said:
“I’m surrounded by educators in my personal life from family members to close friends. I see the struggle teachers face trying to do all they can for their students by using their personal funds while still making ends meet due to underfunded school budgets. Teaching is truly a calling and I value educators more than I can express. If I can assist one teacher, they can then impact the life of a child in bigger and better ways than before and then who knows how it may change that child’s life/world?! It takes one small act to make a large impact.”
Jacqueline asked her colleagues to nominate teachers who needed support to get their classroom equipped with materials. The $550 raised from the raffles will be used to purchase essential items directly from the teacher’s Amazon wishlists including stationery, books, disinfectant wipes, notebooks, whiteboard markets and desk organisers.
Shaun Robinson, Director and winner of the Houston 50/50 Raffle donated his winnings back to the cause, he said:
“Teachers are the most important people to our society and we should all do what we can to alleviate the burden they inevitably carry for families who can’t financially support their children. The money was just sat in my Venmo account and if I can afford to have $40 lying around (that) I don’t care about, I can afford to donate my winnings to someone it will really impact.”
Click here to watch our raffle draw filmed on Linkedin!