Teacher Care Packages
“An eye mask and a stress ball won’t fix education. We’re sending them anyway.”
Practice
Encourage one school each year. Choose a nearby school and make a plan to bless the teachers there consistently.
Keep it simple and affordable. A small gift bag with practical items and a note of encouragement can still communicate real care.
Invite others to help. Turn the project into a shared neighborhood effort so more people can participate in supporting schools.
Make it relational, not just transactional. Don’t just drop off supplies; include a personal note, pray for teachers, and let them know they are seen.
Research consistently shows that a neighborhood’s overall well-being and local school performance go hand in hand, and teacher retention plays a key role in school performance¹. High teacher turnover is linked to lower student achievement, weaker school culture, more disruption, and higher costs for hiring and training replacements. That is one reason we make it a priority to bless our teachers each year with care packages.
We want to see our neighborhood schools thrive. There are three elementary schools in our neighborhood that serve primarily under-resourced families. Ninety-four percent of the students at two of the schools receive free or reduced lunch. Neither school has a PTA, which means the teachers receive minimal community encouragement and appreciation. Over time, that can take its toll on anyone—even for the most committed of teachers!
One simple way we have found to support our schools is to provide teacher care packages. It is a meaningful, simple, and affordable way for us to let our teachers know they are supported and seen. When teachers stay and put down roots and spend years at the same school in the same neighborhood, everyone wins. It is a few friends, a few dollars, and a lot of gratitude for the people shaping our kids.
We include the following items in the care packages: a pack of gum, a personal-size lotion, an eye mask, mini chocolate bars or a pack of Oreos, a stress ball, and trail mix. We also include a small note of encouragement. Last year, we included a Prayer for “Neighborhood Schools” and a Place “Classroom” from the Sacred Place website. We printed them front and back on glossy 8.5 x 5.5 paper. We put everything in a clear cellophane gift bag. The cost is $4 per care package. The schools we serve have about 75 staff members, so the total cost is $300 per school.
We order all the supplies and then set up an “assembly line” in our living room. With the help of a few friends, we can put together the care packages in a couple of hours. Besides blessing the school, we get the benefit of spending time with friends. It’s a win-win!
Give it a try. As a bonus way to love your neighborhood, you could invite your neighbors into the project with you. Get five neighbors together, and everyone contributes $50. You’ll build community in your neighborhood, maybe make some new friends, and bless the school all at the same time. A win-win-win!
[1] Matthew Ronfeldt, Susanna Loeb, and James Wyckoff, “How Teacher Turnover Harms Student Achievement,” American Educational Research Journal 50, no. 1 (February 2013).
Matthew Collver and his wife, Elora, founded and lead The Hills Church, a neighborhood church in Northeast Denver committed to following Jesus, loving neighbors, and being economically and racially diverse.
