Schickler Elementary teacher Nancy Abeare got a very pleasant surprise when she showed up for class on Oct. 5.
Waiting for her was a crew from Office Max in Rochester Hills, who brought with them $1,000 in school supplies for her classroom. The award was given to her as part of the company’s A Day Made Better event. “The award is given out to teachers because Office Max knows how important teachers are and what they do to support students,” said an Office Max spokesman. “What a surprise! I felt honored and embarrassed to be singled out from the Schickler teaching staff. Many teachers spend extra hours and dollars to assist their students. We all want our students to reach goals and feel successful in school. It is so wonderful that Office Max is recognizing the teaching profession!”
The gifts included pencils, paper, staplers, tape, highlighters, dry erase markers, storage boxes, planners, pens, pencil sharpener, a digital camera and a whole raft of supplies to keep the classroom humming.
Office Max began the A Day Made Better program in October 2007, and since that time each year has surprised 1,000 teachers at 1,000 schools around the nation by donating approximately $1,000 worth of supplies to each of their classrooms. “We did this because it is estimated that teachers, together, spend about $4 billion of their own money to make sure their students have the supplies they need to learn. OfficeMax feels this is a problem that we can help solve,” said an Office Max spokesman.
This year about 30,000 OfficeMax associates surprised and honored more than 1,000 teachers at Title 1 schools across the nation with $1 million worth of classroom supplies. Nominated by their principals, teachers receive this honor for their exceptional contributions as an educator, demonstrating passion, innovation and dedication in the classroom.
Photo captions:
Top photo: Teacher Nancy Abeare.
Lower photo:
Schickler Elementary teacher Nancy Abeare (center) is joined by Principal Ken Janczarek (left) and is flanked by the Office Max team from Rochester Hills.
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