Teacher Appreciation: Celebrating 188 Educators at Thanks-A-Million

Last month, 188 educators attended our Thanks-A-Million Teacher Appreciation Event, where our staff, volunteers, and community members came together to shower local teachers with personal gifts, classroom supplies, giveaway opportunities, and gourmet hot dogs.

This kind of support matters now more than ever. A recent survey conducted during the 2024–25 school year revealed that 36% of Miami Valley teachers have considered leaving the profession due to feeling under-resourced and under-supported. Crayons to Classrooms is working to change that.

Over 40 individuals and local organizations generously donated either an item for every teacher to take home or exciting raffle items that added even more joy to the event. Every educator left with at least $360 worth of free gifts, and in total, Crayons to Classrooms distributed $67,765.96 worth of supplies and goodies at Thanks-A-Million. Community donors such as ACCO Brands, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, and American College of Education not only contributed items but also volunteered at the event. Teachers enjoyed music played by Woody, morning host for K99.1FM, and Zombie Dogz gourmet hot dogs.

One Montgomery County teacher shared the following: “Thank you… for always being there to support our teachers in the community. [Thanks-A-Million] was a lovely example of how you all make others feel like we are not in this alone. I felt appreciated, and am so thankful C2C continues to support us in so many ways.”

Special thanks to Sheetz, the event’s Platinum sponsor, and Linda Nervis, local State Farm Agent and Gold sponsor, for helping make this event possible.

Take a look at the teacher appreciation event recap on C2C’s Instagram and Facebook pages. To help support local educators all year long, visit our donation page.