Doubek teachers receive gift cards from Walmart Teacher Rewards program
By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
Walmart awarded 22 teachers from Doubek Elementary with $50 reward cards Oct. 1 to purchase classroom supplies that will help students start the school year off right as part of the company’s Teacher Rewards program.
“It was such a cool thing,” Doubek Principal Lindsey Harris said. “The manager at the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Waukesha is a parent at Doubek and he wanted to reach out to us. He contacted the people at Walmart and asked if he could extend the program to our area and they said yes. Usually they choose neighborhood schools, but this time they chose us.”
“We are proud to honor our community’s teachers, who give time and often their own money to ensure our students have everything they need to be successful throughout the school year,” Walmart Neighborhood Market Waukesha store manager Brian England said.
Harris said Walmart and England went above and beyond for the Doubek teachers and kids.
“They normally draw teacher names for 20 cards, but because our staff is 22 members, England wanted to do it for everybody. So Walmart donated $1,100 instead of the regular 1,000.”
For the sixth year, Walmart donated more than $4.5 million to provide 90,000 teachers across the United States with reward cards to help offset the cost of classroom expenses at the beginning of the school year. These funds come at a critical time, as many teachers will spend an estimated $1,100 of their own money to ensure their students have the supplies they need to learn throughout the school year.
“At Walmart, we are dedicated to supporting our nation’s teachers by providing support and resources needed to continue educating the future leaders of our community,” England said.
More than 5,000 U.S. Walmart stores, Distribution Centers and Sam’s Club locations are eligible to select one local public school, grades K through 8, and provide reward cards to 20 teachers from each selected school. Winning teachers can use the funds to purchase essential items for their classrooms such as paper, folders, binders, pencils, crayons and markers.
The Teacher Rewards program is an extension of Walmart’s ongoing support of local initiatives that help students, teachers and families better prepare for their future including programs like Breakfast in the Classroom, Fill the Bus and Farm to School.
“Our teachers were surprised by the gift cards at a staff meeting in early October,” Harris said. “I didn’t tell anyone what was happening. The teachers were very grateful and pleasantly surprised.”
For more information, visit www.foundation.walmart.com.
