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Volunteers give away free supplies to teachers

Clay Chamber Teacher Appreciation Expo

By Wesley LeBlanc wesley@opcfla.com
Posted 8/4/21

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Volunteers from around the county gathered within the Challenger Enterprises to pack more than 800 boxes of supplies that will soon go to teachers completely for free.

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Volunteers give away free supplies to teachers

Clay Chamber Teacher Appreciation Expo


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Volunteers from around the county gathered within the Challenger Enterprises to pack more than 800 boxes of supplies that will soon go to teachers completely for free.

The Clay Chamber Teacher Appreciation Expo has been a staple event for teachers to look out for each year for more than a decade, and it’s meant to be both a celebration for the hard work teachers put in and an opportunity for the community they teach to give back.

Before the expo can happen, more than 800 boxes of supplies were packed on July 29 ahead of the Aug. 3 giveaway.

“This small stack right here is going to be 800 boxes by the end of the day,” Clay County Chamber of Commerce president Wendell Chindra said while placing the umpteenth packing sticker on a box on a Thursday morning. “We have 800 teachers registered so there’s no ‘maybe 800’ or ‘about 800’ boxes...it has to be 800 boxes.”

Chindra said this year’s expo registration was so popular, he had to shut down registrations because all the spots had been reserved. The expo is traditionally a big celebratory event, but this year’s event will be a drive-thru at the Thrasher-Horne Center in Orange Park as a result of COVID-19.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 800 teachers drove through the makeshift drive-thru line to grab a box filled with facemasks for children, crayons, colored pencils, note cards, informational resource packets, paper and more. This year’s title sponsor is Community First Credit Union, which used to be the Teacher’s Credit Union, and while its name is different today, its dedication to teachers remains as strong as ever.

“We’re all out here helping out our

local teachers,” Community First director of marketing Jonathan Hanson said while packing a box. “Not a lot know but we used to be the Teacher’s Credit Union and that’s because we began as support for teachers. We still love to support our teachers and that’s why we’re here today.”

Hanson said Community First brought 11 volunteers to the packing event. Community First has credit unions in Oakleaf, Fleming Island and Orange Park, but other branches do similar teacher-focused volunteering in other counties, too.

“It’s a big part of who we are,” Hanson said.

One of the Community First volunteers was senior executive assistant Paula Basihan. She said she’s proud to work for a company that allows its employees to take time off from work to volunteer for local efforts like the expo.

“We all know teachers have had their fair share of struggles over the years, especially over the past year and a half with COVID-19,” Basihan said. “That’s what makes being able to do something like this so nice. They really deserve it and I’m so happy to be here to help out this year.”

Basihan’s son, Tristan, was there to help, too. He said it’s “super cool” to help pack boxes with his mom and personally help give supplies to teachers that very well may have, or will, teach him in his educational career.