Teachers find free classroom supplies via web site

Delray Full Service Center teacher Dennis Shaw usually spends time in thrift shops searching for bargains or looking for donations to supplement the school's resources.

"We always need more and more and more," he said.

His search was made easier after he registered at iloveschools.com, a Web site that links teachers looking for classroom materials with people looking to donate items.

Jerry Hall, 44, executive director and founder of the San Diego-based site, started it after he saw a similar site in New York that linked local donors and schools. "I thought it would be great to do that nationwide," he said.

That was in 1999. Hall sat on the idea for a few years because he didn't have the resources to pursue it, and he waited for the New York site to expand. When finances permitted, he launched the site where teachers link to donors and can find more than 150 resources available, including grant information and places offering school supplies.

Hall attributes his drive to start the site to a childhood wish he made after having what he calls some "negative experiences" at school. He made himself a promise to do something, so other children wouldn't have the same tough times he did.

"I didn't know how I would change it," he said. "I just made a general promise to change school."

I Love Schools Inc. became a nonprofit organization in June. Hall intends to keep his overhead minimal. "I believe 100 percent of donations should go to the intended recipient," he said. "I'm trying to show that, with ingenuity, you can have a Web site that's basically a matching entity."

The site does accept gifts to defray administrative costs, Hall said, but the donor decides whether he wants to help.

Lake Worth attorney Pam Wynn, 46, closed her practice at the end of June and had all sorts of office supplies and computer parts. She heard about iloveschools.com and decided to give the items to local educators.

"All these teachers spend a lot of money out of their own pocket. I don't think that's fair," Wynn said. "I don't have any kids in school, but I think it's important to support education. Kids and teachers should have the resources they need."

She has donated more than a carton of colored paper and cardstock, envelopes, desk accessories such as pencil holders, file dividers and hole punchers. She also unloaded computer equipment.

Concerned residents such as Wynn have donated everything from ant farms to computers to TVs to the Web site. Visitors can go to the site and search for schools to contribute to by ZIP code.

At least 7,000 teachers have signed up for the site, including more than 500 from about 220 schools in Florida.

That's where the community comes in. "This isn't a feel-good story," Hall said. "This is a `you can do something that matters' story. We really believe that, with better tools, teachers can create better classrooms."

Shaw said he would be happy with "a couple of cases of ditto paper." But his wish list on the site includes small items, such as crayons and construction paper, as well as larger ones such as computers and teacher desks.

"You know it's going to get put to good use," donor Wynn said.

Click here to read the article at Sun-Sentinel.com

Click here to read I Love Schools, Inc. press releases.