News

Actions

‘Bounty boxes' help teachers go back to school in Tempe

Posted at 6:34 AM, Aug 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-10 09:34:44-04
Katie Gatchell gets giddy over school supplies.
 
“Those tissues, I’ve been eyeing them, we need them,” she said. “Glue sticks, Clorox wipes but even like candy and Sharpie's are great.”
 
As a second grade teacher at Broadmor Elementary School in Tempe, stocking her classroom is not cheap.
 
“Average, at least at the end of the year, $1,000 or more, I mean it adds up,” Gatchell said. “I’ve never done a GoFundMe, I’ve thought about it.”
 
Enter Adolfson & Peterson Construction’s “Back to School Bounty Boxes.” 
 
“Sharpie's, markers, Post-it's, disinfectant wipes, Lysol wipes, Clorox wipes, hand sanitizers,” said Laura Shiver, the company’s director of marketing. 
 
Donations are pouring in. This year they will go out to 25 Valley schools. The goal is to eventually touch every school in the state.
 
“You take into consideration a lot of these teachers have second jobs,” Shiver said. “So we're just doing anything we can to try and minimize that cost.”
 
Gatchell admits teaching is not always a smooth ride, but it is one that is certainly worth taking.
 
“We do have difficult days together,” she said.  “When I’m saying goodbye to them to give them back to their parents, you know that hug, from those students? Yeah.”