CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Teachers are some of the unsung heroes of the community. When they are short on supplies, they often tap into their own personal finances to make sure every student has the tools they need to succeed.
This can get very, very expensive.
One way you can help a teacher is through a yearly campaign called "Clear the List."
Teachers will make Amazon wish lists of what they need for the upcoming school year and share it to social media, hoping to get some help with supplies. There are two days coming up where prices on some of those items may be they lowest the are all year: Amazon Prime Day.
Amazon's next annual Prime Day sale will kick off early in the morning on Tuesday, July 11 and run through July 12, the company announced.
The e-commerce giant has held the two-day shopping extravaganza to lure people to its Prime membership since 2015. In a release, it promised Amazon-exclusive deals for members on popular brands and small business products alike.
One local teacher hopes the discounts will be beneficial to educators who need help with supplies for their classroom.
"Our school falls under the category of Title 1, indicating that it serves a low-income population," Teresa Flores, a Corpus Christi elementary school teacher said. "Unfortunately, many of these children often lack the essential supplies required to excel academically. I am in need of assistance to create the optimal learning environment for my students."
Flores created a wish list and hopes she can get some community support for her classroom.
First grade teacher at John F. Kennedy Elementary in West Oso ISD, Chelsea Williams also created a wish list. She said that for teachers, those out of pocket costs get expensive and that any help is always welcomed.
"None of us really expect the whole list to be cleared. It's just things that we would, you know, kind of in a dream world would like to start the school year off with and not have those worries on us when the kids are coming in," Williams said.
Second year teacher at Seale Junior High in Robstown, Jasmine Torres said her first year of teaching proved to be struggle when she realized just how expensive supplies for her classroom would cost. She hopes that creating her list this year will make things a little easier.
"All my teacher friends that I know are very appreciative with anything. Pencils, paper, erasers, anything is greatly appreciated. I know I'll be grateful for anything," Torres said.
Kammie Starry also made a list. The first grade teacher at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in West Oso agrees that even the smallest contributions to a space where teachers and their students spend eight hours a day means much more than people may think.
"If you're thinking about picking up a teacher's list or even an item, you have no idea how much one book will go, how much one little item is going to make a difference in that teacher or that student's life, Starry said.
If you are a local teacher and have an Amazon wish list, find this story on our Facebook and Twitter accounts and post your list in the comments.
For anyone who wants to help, pick a list from the comments and buy what you can for the teacher. The supplies will go directly to them for their classrooms.
Teachers can also submit their lists on the website Get Your Teach On for a chance at nationwide support.
Last year, 3NEWS Reporter Bill Churchwell went through the school supply list for CCISD and found each student needed about $70 worth of supplies. You can watch that report below.
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