{"id":269568,"date":"2026-05-13T15:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/269568\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:32:19","slug":"200m-milestone-achieved-by-a-gift-for-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/269568\/","title":{"rendered":"$200M milestone achieved by A Gift for Teaching"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 An Orlando nonprofit has reached a major milestone in its effort to support local classrooms.<\/p>\n

A Gift for Teaching<\/a> announced Wednesday that it has distributed more than $200 million worth of educational resources to students and teachers in Central Florida.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit, founded in 1998, provides free school supplies to teachers serving high-need public schools in Orange and Osceola counties.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pencil Boy Express <\/p>\n

\u201cReaching $200 million in distributed school supplies is about far more than a number \u2014 it reflects nearly three decades of generosity, partnership, and a community that believes in teachers and students,\u201d said Jane Thompson, president of A Gift for Teaching. \u201cThis milestone belongs to everyone who understands that classroom supplies are not extras. They are essential tools for learning, confidence, and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Gift for Teaching said every $1 donated helps provide $10 worth of classroom resources.<\/p>\n

The organization said its work is supported through donations, supply drives, volunteers and monthly donors known as Classroom Heroes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis milestone for A Gift for Teaching demonstrates the power of a community coming together to support Orange County students and educators,\u201d Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said. \u201cBy helping provide essential classroom supplies and resources, A Gift for Teaching is ensuring our public school teachers have the tools they need and our students have every opportunity to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nonprofit plans to mark the milestone with billboards across Central Florida, a presentation at an Orange County School Board meeting and commemorative moments at its Free Teacher Supply Store.<\/p>\n

A Gift for Teaching<\/a> will also host its Great Big Backpack Build on June 4 at the Orange County Convention Center.<\/p>\n

The annual event launches the organization\u2019s Ready for Back-to-School campaign. Hundreds of corporate volunteers are expected to pack 30,000 backpacks with school supplies.<\/p>\n

Community members can support the organization through its Classroom Heroes program, which provides supplies to classrooms through monthly donations.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

TOP STORIES FROM WFTV CHANNEL 9<\/p>\n

\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 An Orlando nonprofit has reached a major milestone in its effort to support local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[46874,147,145,115709,28,1335,139,141,140,115710,144,146],"class_list":["post-269568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-a-gift-for-teaching","tag-central-florida","tag-channel-9","tag-classroom-heroes","tag-florida","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-school-supplies","tag-wftv","tag-wftv-channel-9"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}