School supplies and help sought

Volunteers and donations will help teachers supply their rooms

A new nonprofit that will give school supplies to Charleston County teachers of low-income students has raised about $75,000 and hopes to open soon.

Momentum has been building behind the Teachers' Supply Closet for the past few months, although the effort to start the nonprofit dates back two years. The Teachers' Supply Closet will be a store where teachers can get the supplies they need at no cost, and it's the first year-round center of its kind in the Lowcountry, and possibly the state.

Organizers planned to open the store this month but have pushed that date back to December to ensure the store will be ready, said Dorothy Harrison, president of the Teachers' Supply Closet.

The store initially will serve teachers at six county elementary schools where at least 95 percent of the students are considered low income: Sanders-Clyde, Wilmot J. Fraser, Chicora, Mary Ford, Malcolm C. Hursey and Matilda F. Dunston. The plan is to start with these few schools and expand to serve more, Harrison said. The store will be open during times that fit teachers' schedules, and teachers who use the store will be asked to volunteer a few hours of their time later, Harrison said.

The store, which is in a donated space in the Ashley Landing Shopping Center off Sam Rittenburg Boulevard, has carpet, painted walls and some donated furniture and school supplies, but little else.

The nonprofit group plans to buy and install a software system to track its volunteers and donations as well as phones, security and other basic operational needs, Harrison said.

An energetic group of volunteers has done all the organizing for the nonprofit thus far, but Harrision said the group is at a point where it needs to hire someone on a part-time basis to help with day-to-day administrative duties.

The need among teachers for supplies is so great, Harrison said, and community members have been generous with their help. Two community service organizations, the Charleston chapters of The Links Inc. and Jack & Jill of America, have agreed to a multi-year commitment that their more than 60 combined members will volunteer at the store. The group has received a $7,000 grant from the Coastal Community Foundation and hosted a fundraising breakfast Thursday.

"The support has been overwhelming," Harrison said.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.