The Troy Foundation Awards $4,500 Grant to C2C for Miami County Teachers

Forest and Heywood Elementary Schools are going to have a great start to the new year. How do we know? The Troy Foundation just awarded $4500 to Crayons to Classrooms to serve teachers and students at these schools in need in Troy, Ohio. Crayons to Classrooms is one of 35 programs that recently received grant funding from the Troy Foundation. With this funding, teachers from these schools will be able to come to C2C to shop for everything they need in the new year, whether it’s crayons and notebooks or socks and STEM supplies. Troy City Schools Superintendent, Chris Piper, stated that a partnership with C2C “is critical to ensuring [Forest and Heywood teachers] have the necessary supplies to engage students in active learning.”

Miami County is an area C2C has identified has growing needs and Forest and Heywood are the first two schools in the county to be served by C2C programs. With generous support from the community, teachers at these two schools, serving approximately 500 students in total, began visiting C2C for free school supplies at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

The goal this first year is that C2C would provide at least $23,000 in free school supplies to the two elementary schools. With every dollar donated being tripled in impact, the Troy Foundation’s grant gets C2C more than halfway there. Teachers from Forest and Heywood have already come to C2C and “shopped” for over $18,000 in free supplies—a tremendous response for a school in its first year partnering with us. The fact that teachers will drive out of their way to support their students is evidence of the depth of need and a testament to their professionalism. This timely donation is enough for all the teachers at one school to receive free school supplies for a year—a significant impact.

There are three other schools in Miami County that are eligible for C2C services because over 60% of their students receive free or reduced lunch. Although these other schools aren’t in Troy, Crayons to Classrooms is working on a plan to secure additional funding to reach their teachers, too. Crayons to Classrooms staff and committee members choose new schools to add to the eligible schools list each spring. Find more information about shopping at the teacher resource center by visiting the teacher page on C2C’s website.