KANSAS CITY, MO — Back to school season is around the corner, and that means both parents and teachers will be making some necessary purchases ahead of the school year.
Now, more than a thousand teachers are getting some extra help thanks to Hope Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
“It’s so amazing to get to step into that role of being a teacher,” Ross Reya said.
Reya, a first-time teacher, has his hands full as he gets ready for the school year.
“They are going to get fresh pencils, they are not going to have to use stuff that is left over from kids from last year," Reya said. "They are going to get brand new things to them, which is super exciting."
Along with donations and partnerships from the community, the church has been hosting the teacher supply giveaway for eight years.
“Budgets are getting tighter and then that's their personal money,” said Shannon Horn, with Hope Church. “We already don't pay you enough, so take your personal money and buy some more stuff to do your job, and that's hard to ask people to do, and so I thought the least we could do is give them stuff that they don't have to spend money on.”
For the last 30 years, Angela Myres, a teacher assistant, has always tried to give her preschool students the tools they need to succeed, no matter the cost.
“Here it was free and that was awesome," Myres said. "I love working with the boys and girls and giving something to them that's going to help them moving forward.”
Free of cost, Myres and Ross got more than supplies at this event — they also got a chance to leave a plus mark on their students' lives.
“Just getting to have an impact on the lives of children so young is just something I’ve wanted to do," Reya said.
—
