Celebrate our Teachers Inaugural Free School Supply Event

by Alanis Stallknecht

Did you know that 94 percent of teachers spend their own money on school supplies? And, according to a survey done by The New York Times, on average, school teachers pay at least $479 of their own money over a two-year span. Seven percent spend more than $1,000. Even then, the cost may not include decorations.

On Tuesday, August 13th, 2019 The Montana scene hosted their inaugural, Free School Supplies for Teachers. From 6-8 p.m., teachers from all over the Flathead Valley, and even further, such as Eureka, stood in line outside The Montana Scene in Kalispell and waited for the opportunity to fill a canvas tote full of free supplies. There were even some teachers with a sun tent waiting outside before the store opened.

With their teacher ID’s in hand, close to 100 teachers walked through the door, received a cute canvas tote with, “My Teacher Things,” written on it, and stocked up on supplies such as: notebooks, pencils, paper, erasers, pens, markers, hand sanitizer, tissue paper, crayons, headphones, and much more.

On top of many free supplies, The Montana Scene offered 20 percent off the entire store as a thank you for all the hard work teachers do.

Teachers filed through and by the end of the night, all supplies were gone. This is something The Montana Scene looks forward to doing each year.

Melissa Bonnet, the owner of The Montana Scene, created the event because she always wanted to give back to the schools in some way. She’s aware that teachers are not always supported with funding and thought this would be a great way to give back.

The Montana Scene bought all the supplies for the event and received heartwarming comments such as:

“Thank you The Montana Scene for the wonderful event! It was well organized and gave me a chance to not only my tote bag with stuff for my students but also to see my fellow teachers before the rush of back to school. You have a forever fan!”

“Thank you so much, Montana Scene! Your generous gesture and donations are very much appreciated!”

“Thank you for supporting teachers!!! It was a great event.”

We look forward to seeing all our favorite teachers next year at our annual Free School Supplies for Teachers.

l Photo from BBC.com l