Retired teacher Sky McClain collects unused and gently used school supplies at the end of each school year and gives them away to local teachers.
Sky McClain taught for more than 30 years, and during her time as an elementary school art teacher, the last day of school would often leave her floored. Students cleaning out their desks would have trash bins overflowing with perfectly good school supplies. She said a cursory look had her pulling out scissors, unopened glue sticks and other gently used or unopened supplies, which she used in her art classroom.
So, three years ago, following her retirement, she decided to stop the waste in a larger capacity. She asked teachers at Kresson Elementary School where she taught if she could collect the supplies students were disposing of on the last day of school to give away to teachers whose classrooms were sorely undersupplied.
Since then, word of mouth about McClain’s efforts has spread, and this year, McClain collected three times as many supplies as in years past. She spent the last month sorting and organizing the gently used supplies to begin her open giveaway run out of the garage of her Moorestown home on Monday, July 10.
“I have a master’s degree in environmental education,” McClain said. “I’m all about recycling and saving the environment and trying not to be wasteful.”
The first year McClain began by putting boxes in the classrooms of Kresson school and had teachers encourage students to put any school supplies they were considering throwing away into the box rather than the trash bin. When she and her husband went to grab the boxes the day after school ended, they were shocked to find almost every box was filled to the brim.
McClain said she thinks she understands elementary school students’ desire to dispose of their supplies. She said many think if they come home with their old supplies, they will not get to go shopping for new items in the fall, which can be quite thrilling for that age group.
This June, McClain also accepted donations from anyone who wanted to give office supplies, books or other items. She said with word having gotten out about her recycling efforts, it’s encouraged friends and neighbors to go through their desks.
She said her living room was piled high with boxes of supplies, and each morning, she sat with a cup of coffee to sort through the items ensuring all were in usable condition. The process took McClain three weeks and left her garage full of stacks of books, posters, art supplies and other items.
Through her involvement in the Sigma chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international organization of Female Educators, McClain got the word out to teachers about the free items available to any area teacher.
She said she was especially touched when a teacher from St. Anthony of Padua School in Camden told her she had easily spent more than $1,000 out of her own pocket last year to supply her classroom.
“There’s a lot of teachers now that the budget is so small they have to use their own money,” McClain said.
McClain said she networks with teachers through Delta Kappa Gamma to get the word out about her yearly give away, but she also spreads the word as best she can. She said whenever she encounters a teacher, she excitedly tells them about her giveaway.
At Moorestown Day in June, McClain said she informed some members of Save the Environment of Moorestown about her giveaway, and they followed her lead, going to the Upper Elementary School in Moorestown to grab gently used supplies, which — last she heard — are making their way to a new school opening in the Philippines.
McClain said she wants to continue her yearly giveaway, but her goal is to inspire others to follow her example. She said she wants to get schools thinking about putting an end to the waste and maybe inspire other environmentally conscious individuals to take up similar collections in their garages.
To get involved in McClain’s giveaway for next year, contact McClain at skymcclain@me.com.
