As the Chicago Sun Times reported late last month, Chicago Public School teachers are spending large amounts of personal funds on even the most basic supplies for their classrooms. Not only are teachers forced to "dig into their own pockets," many also use crowd-sourcing to purchase items as simple as books. Teachers in Chicago, and across the country, are looking to sites like Donors Choose to help supply their students with the tools to succeed.
It is evidence like this that makes the work of CCRx so important. Not only are we aiming to divert from landfills, we're hoping to take some of the burden off teachers by providing materials for creative reuse.
First-grade teacher Randy Foust with her students at Washington Irving Elementary School. She's had to resort to spending her own money and asking others to help pay for school supplies. | Maria Cardona / Sun-Times