Crayons to Classrooms Opens First “Crayons Closet” for Local Rural District
On April 9th, Crayons to Classrooms (C2C) opened their first Crayons Closet in National Trail Local School District in Preble County. This mini-store is stocked with 18 different essential school supplies such as backpacks, notebooks, writing utensils, glue sticks, and more for teachers to shop for at no cost.
C2C serves under-resourced schools throughout the following counties: Montgomery, Miami, Greene, Clark, Darke, Preble, and north Warren. Teachers at C2C’s eligible schools drive varying distances to the Teacher Resource Center. Teachers at National Trail Local Schools are geographically distant from C2C and find it difficult to make the time to visit the Teacher Resource Center to get free supplies.
“Teachers have families of their own and personal commitments, and our center is an hour to Dayton and an hour back,” shares Amy Kopp, C2C Executive Director. “This Crayons Closet is designed to have supplies at the ready for all the teachers within the district so they can get them when they need them.”
The district’s elementary, middle, and high school are all housed in the same building. Over 75 teachers and 900 students will benefit from this resource within their school.
Teachers, program sponsors, and community supporters joined C2C at the ribbon cutting and were the first to see the Crayons Closet. Four teachers then had the opportunity to shop in the closet for the first time.
“I usually spend my money buying supplies, so having access to this closet will help so much for me and my students,” shares kindergarten teacher, Cindy Herrmann. “A lot of our students don’t have they supplies they need. Being able to come to the closet and grab some markers, crayons, or a folder will put our students at ease and allow them to keep on learning.”
This pilot program was made possible through the generous support of the AES Ohio Foundation and the Henny Penny Employee Foundation, whose investment helps remove barriers to essential classroom resources. Crayons to Classrooms also extends its appreciation to SpeedPro Dayton for providing the branded door wrap and floor vinyl that bring the space to life.
This initiative highlights the impact of a community coming together to support teachers and ensure students have the resources they need to succeed.
Hear directly from a National Trail Local Schools kindergarten teacher and the superintendent as they share their thoughts on this exciting new resource in the video below: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Wzgjf0lRAF0
