FLEMING ISLAND – In her first year as the event’s organizer, Thunderbolt Elementary School Kindergarten teacher Heather Thompson has opened the school’s teacher depot to teachers throughout the county.

“This is something that was started in the school to recycle goods within the teachers here,” Thompson said. “It’s been going on since I’ve been here, and long before that.”

The depot operates under the name Kudos to Karen in honor of former Thunderbolt teacher whose idea sparked the current day iteration of the teacher swap shop. The basic idea is that teachers from within Thunderbolt gather up any unused or unwanted supplies from their rooms, and store the items in an unused classroom at the school. Teachers can then pay a $10 donation into their school account and take as many items as they want.

This year, after the items had been picked over by the teachers at Thunderbolt, Thompson, in an effort to get more of the items into classrooms where they would be used, opened the program up. She announced that the depot would accept a $5 donation from teachers from throughout the district who wanted to sift through what was left.

Thompson said the fund is used for providing lunch and other special occasions for the teachers throughout the school year.

The depot became open to the district Sept. 5 at 3:30 p.m. and was open again the next day at the same time. Depending on continued interest from teachers, Thompson said she may reopen the store next week as well.