Shelly O’Donnell will speak to the Rotary Club of San Marcos about The Teacher Reuse on April 22 at noon at the VFW Hall, 1701 Hunter Road. The nonprofit organization provides teacher supplies for public and charter school teachers. It serves as a hub for donated supplies from teachers and retired teachers who no longer need their supplies. They also welcome donations from businesses that have surplus office supplies and community members who want to donate supplies from the list on their website, teacher- reuse.org. O’Donnell says schools usually give teachers only what they need for the curriculum and do not have the budget to supply bulletin board materials, printer/copier paper, staplers, storage boxes, dry erase markers, stickers, stamps and other motivational items that affect student behavior and attitudes. Texas teachers spend, on average, $1000 out-of-pocket to supply their classrooms each year, she says.
“Many good teachers are thinking of leaving the profession,” she says, “partly because of out-ofpocket costs. “We are losing good teachers at an alarming rate. The Teacher Reuse can help. We had 517 teachers from 57 Texas school districts this year come for free supplies. More than $81,000 worth of supplies were given away in one month.”
O’Donnell is the Executive Director of Central Texas Teacher Reuse. She spent 26 years teaching in high schools and preschools and has a master’s degree in education from Texas Woman’s University.
Rotary is nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nonreligious. The San Marcos club is 105 years old.
