ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Shopping for school supplies can be expensive.
According to local nonprofit A Gift For Teaching, 70% of schools in Orange and Osceola County lack basic supplies like paper and pencils, but donations and hardworking volunteers are working to change that.
Terry Ault is one of those volunteers. She knows how valuable a pencil is.
“Pencils often disappear from the classroom,” Ault said.
After retiring after 40 years as a teacher, Ault volunteers at A Gift For Teaching, Central Florida’s premier provider of free school supplies for teachers, helping distribute pencils to those who need them most.
“I like to help,” Ault said. “I always am. Give me something to do, tell me what to do. Let me help.”
Ault welcomes nearly 4,000 teachers who come to her Orange County store to purchase free school supplies.
“I’ll make sure they’re ready to go and wish them lots of fun!” said Ault.
Ult makes sure the shelves stay stocked with everything she and her students might need.
As a former math teacher, she knows that many children come to class empty-handed.
“Students learn best when they have the right tools, and many students in Orange County can’t afford them,” she said. “Being able to provide those things to teachers and to be able to give them to their students is probably one of the greatest things we can do for a teacher.”
Ault said she used to spend up to $1,000 of her own money on her classroom supplies, a problem the nonprofit has been helping to solve for 25 years.
“A Gift for Teaching has distributed over $175 million worth of free school supplies over the past nearly 26 years,” said Ken Probst, manager at A Gift For Teaching. “And without the help of volunteers, we simply wouldn’t be able to handle the volume of donations and the amount of supplies purchased in our store.”
It’s the feeling of being able to give back that has kept Ault volunteering for the past eight years.
“I know how much this means to a teacher. And if you’ve ever seen the faces of the teachers who come here for the first time to see what’s available to them, it’s very heartfelt to me. It makes a big impression and I can say it’s free – it’s all for you,” Ault said.
This is something she wants to do for the rest of her life and keep her in the profession she loves.
“Until I’m physically unable to do so, yes, definitely,” Ault said.
She hopes to teach others how important it is.
“Volunteering here gives me purpose and makes me happy,” Ault said. “It makes me feel like I’m still part of the community and I can still contribute.”
For information on teacher qualifications, visit https://www.agiftforteaching.org/eligibility/. For information on how to donate materials or volunteer, visit https://www.agiftforteaching.org/get-involved/.
