KidSmart and Ameren Missouri donate school supplies to hundreds of Mid-Missouri teachers

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Ameren Missouri teamed up with a non-profit charity Tuesday to give school supplies to scores of Mid-Missouri teachers.

KidSmart and Ameren hosted a drive-thru at the Walmart Supercenter on Conley Road for teachers to pick up free school supplies.

A total of 250 teachers from over 40 schools across Mid-Missouri registered for the event. The entire event totaled $400,000 in essential school supplies.

According to a National Education Association Today article, 94% of teachers have to pay out of pocket for classroom necessities. And on average, educators spent between $500 and $750 of their own money every year on supplies.

This is the first time this pilot program has come to Mid-Missouri, helping 10,000 students, according to a KidSmart press release. The event was previously held in St. Louis.

"There's definitely a need here and we already have partners with Amazon and Walmart here in central Missouri, it was just kind of a natural start for us," said KidSmart Vice President Michael Smith.

Volunteers and teachers were excited for the change of location.

"Many of our employees here live and work in this community, we want them to be successful," said Ameren Vice President of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs Warren Wood. "A lot of our kids are in these schools, we live here and these are our neighbors."

Teachers were greeted by KidSmart and Ameren Missouri volunteers along with several other community volunteers from Walmart, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Starbucks.

The event led teachers on a roped-off trail through a parking lot, starting at a check-in window and ending at Lysol wipes.

Through the drive-through, teachers received basic school supplies like pencils, glue sticks and folders as well as brand new books and even air purifiers.

Supplies varied by grade level with books and composition books in various levels and line rulings.

Holly Goodrich, an instructor from Sedalia High School, came to pick up supplies for herself and four other teachers.

Goodrich was blown away by the large number of volunteers and the quality of materials being donated.

"It's not just because the kids don't have the stuff, some of them seriously sincerely don't get supported at home," Goodrich said. "So, I love having free material that anybody can take, no questions asked."

Instructors registered on a first-come first-serve basis. The only qualification is that their school must have a 70% or higher free or reduced-price meal rate.

For any teachers unable to participate in the event, Smith encourages them to contact KidSmart where the organization can continue to help.

Thanks to the success of this year's program, Smith plans to return to Columbia next year with double the amount of supplies.