As students of all ages around the country return to school and face learning amid the ongoing pandemic, the focus is on protection. Teachers oftentimes have to come out of their own pockets to provide school and classroom supplies and exhaust every resource to make sure their students are supported. Clorox is helping to remove some of that weight from educators’ shoulders by making a hefty donation to DonorsChoose to help teachers clear their supply lists, and their first stop on this tour was Atlanta’s Emma Hutchinson Elementary School.
Alongside Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins, Clorox in partnership with the Atlanta Hawks, joined the students and staff of Emma Hutchinson Elementary to share this exciting surprise.
“It is always a positive thing when you can get corporate America to come in and show their concern in the communities and give their resources, and what they’ve done today to donate money to the school system for the hard work is an amazing thing,” Wilkins said.
After a quick turn-up session with Harry the Hawk, the ATL Dancers, and ATL Boom (the Hawks’ drumline) in true pep-rally form, Shaunta Broadway-McDaniel, the school’s principal, along with teachers and staff received a surprise they would not forget. Not only did they receive countless cleaning supplies for teachers and staff, but a million dollars was also placed into DonorsChoose for teachers to access for grants, and a generous donation of $100K was given to Emma Hutchinson and the Atlanta Public School System to help supply educators with what they need.
Broadway-McDaniel expressed her appreciation. “It just blew me away, because what it’s going to do is [it] will remove any barriers that we have, especially, [being] in urban areas, teachers spend a lot of their own money,” Broadway-McDaniel said. “For them to really realize that we are on the forefront with our health care workers [and] our teachers every day, especially in schools with children that aren’t at an age to be vaccinated. Just to be with Clorox is amazing.”
The generous and much-needed donation was the first of many from Clorox around the country, in hopes of recognizing teachers as the superheroes they are.
“Teachers are truly going above and beyond and this surprise recognizes that effort. And it goes a long way in terms of making them feel seen, supported and appreciated. It means a ton in terms of the culture of the school, but then also in terms of the supplies with keeping the classroom safe and clean,” said Tommy Usher, the associate superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools.
