ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 \u201cA single mom, I\u2019m an educator for Orange County Public Schools living from paycheck to paycheck,\u201d said Janice Redding.<\/p>\n
Redding, a teacher and single mother of two, says rising prices have made it harder to keep up with everyday needs \u2014 and she\u2019s not alone. During our interview, I helped with her kids, holding her little girl as Redding opened up about the reality many Central Florida families are facing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFood, supplies, things to make sure your hygiene is good, cost of living, necessities for living \u2014 the cost of everything has gone up and it\u2019s extremely hard nowadays,\u201d Redding said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why the nonprofit A Gift For Teaching has spent decades providing free school supplies to teachers and students.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn unfortunate fact is that more than 50% of students show up for the first day of school without the essential school supplies,\u201d said Chad McClellan with A Gift For Teaching.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday in Washington Shores, A Gift For Teaching handed out close to 600 backpacks for children in need. Back in June, volunteers packed about 30,000 backpacks to help make sure kids across Orange and Osceola counties have what they need on day one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey show up without loose leaf paper. They don\u2019t have pencils. They don\u2019t have the dry erasers for the boards. They don\u2019t have notebooks \u2014 all these things that they need to succeed,\u201d McClellan said. \u201cAll those essentials are in their bag now, so when they show up it\u2019s at least taking the burden off those families, those students and teachers because as you know, teachers will come out of pocket for their students.\u201d<\/p>\n
And many of those teachers \u2014 like Redding \u2014 need help themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re just doing the best that you can,\u201d Redding said.<\/p>\n
She says sometimes \u201cdoing your best\u201d means being vulnerable and accepting help when it\u2019s offered.<\/p>\n
A Gift For Teaching says it will continue handing out the rest of the tens of thousands of backpacks across 120 schools in Orange and Osceola counties.<\/p>\n
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