Adventure Subaru of Fayetteville surprised Jones Elementary School teachers Aug. 8 with a donation of $12,500 in classroom supply kits.
“We do not have an active PTO or parent organization,” said Jill Jackson, Jones Elementary School principal. “So for us, this is really great for our school family.”
Each teacher also received $500 in their supply kit to purchase supplies for their individual classrooms, Jackson said.
The donation was made as part of the national Subaru Loves Learning initiative, which helps supply high-need classrooms with essential school supplies and resources, said Danielle Hoffman, Adventure Subaru marketing director.
“We know that schools in Springdale School District could use a little bit extra love, and we wanted to focus our efforts on helping kids in the high-need schools," Hoffman said.
Erin Fisher, Jones Elementary fourth grade teacher, said the classroom supplies and the $500 to spend in her class would allow teachers to provide the extra things for students that they may otherwise be moved to pay for out-of-pocket, rather than force students to go without this school year.
“This will help us be able to teach and to give the kids more opportunities,” she said.
Jackson said it’s not uncommon for teachers to help students however they can.
“We often have kids that need shoes, need clothes, need food, and so we all come together to support our kids and our families in whatever they need,” she said.
The donation will also help teachers do innovative and creative things in their classrooms that may not have been possible otherwise, Jackson said.
“I think this will allow them to kind of do things in their class community that maybe they don't always get to do, but they kind of dream big and want to do,” she said.
Fisher said her box included a wide variety of necessary classroom supplies.
“We got stickers, we got dry erase markers, which you could never have enough of,” she said. “We got markers, crayons, whiteboards to write on, some disinfecting wipes, which are really important, and several other things.”
Hoffman said Adventure Subaru partnered with AdoptAClassroom.org to purchase the classroom supply kits. AdoptAClassroom.org is a national nonprofit based in Minneapolis, Minn., that provides funding for school supplies to classrooms and needy families.
The principal expressed her gratitude for the donations, adding local and national Subaru representatives participated in the surprise donation.
“Just a big thank you to Adventure Subaru and for our district for coming in today and helping out,” Jackson said.
