A Gift For Teaching

By transferring community surplus supplies at no cost the Free Store annually distributes millions of essential resources to teachers and classrooms.

6501 Magic Way, Bldg. 400C Orlando, FL 32809 Phone: (407) 345-0515 Fax: (407) 345-8454 EIN/Tax ID: 59-3515162 www.agiftforteaching.org

Detailed Description of A Gift For Teaching

Nearly half of the students in Central Florida cannot afford lunch let alone school supplies. A Gift For Teaching’s (AGFT) mission is to ensure that Central Florida children have the basic tools for learning by transferring, at no cost, the community’s surplus supplies and merchandise into the hands of teachers and school children in need. The concept is beautifully simple: surplus supplies from individuals and businesses are gathered and offered at no cost to area teachers who "shop" at a "Free Store" for items they need for their classrooms and poverty-stricken students -- things like books, backpacks, paper, crayons and even new socks and underwear.

In schools where 60 percent or more of the students are on the Free/Reduced lunch program, every teacher can shop monthly. All other schools may send one teacher to shop weekly to provide for their students in need.

When the organization first opened its doors in 1998, it served 30 schools. In just a little over seven years of operation, AGFT’s Free Store has grown significantly and experienced a 650 percent increase in teacher shopping visits. In all, the program has distributed over $30 million worth of school supplies to Central Florida’s low-income students.

The organization currently serves all 325 public schools in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, reaching out to more than 7,353 teachers and impacting more than 131,000 students each year. A Gift For Teaching also supports several other successful community-based programs: Since its creation in 1999, the "A Gift For Music" program has touched the lives of over 5,000 students and families in Central Florida by providing violins, violas, cellos and instruction free of charge to students who otherwise would never have the chance to play a stringed instrument. This highly successful program expands students’ knowledge of the world of music, awards them a productive outlet in which to express their creativity, and opens another door for them to shine.

Launched in November 2003, "Crafts with Conviction Florida" is an innovative partnership with the Florida Department of Corrections that gives prison inmates the chance to produce much-needed school supplies and educational tools, including flash cards, tote bags and writing journals using donated raw materials such as paper, fabric and cardboard. The items are then made available in the "Free Store" for teachers to take back to their classrooms. Inmates have already volunteered more than 50,000 hours in service to their community, producing over $1.5 million worth of valuable teaching and learning tools.

As the seemingly limitless need for A Gift For Teaching’s services grow, so will its needs to procure the pencils, crayons, glue, and paper that allow small classroom miracles to happen everyday. In response to this tremendous need, the organization will remain committed to its donors by transforming every $1 donated into $10 worth of high quality school supplies made available in its Free Store for teachers; by continuing to solidify and expand its wide variety of programs; and reaching out and supporting more teachers and students than ever by increasing A Gift For Teaching’s reach into the communities it serves.