LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — As the second semester of school gets underway, CBS12 News is partnering with the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County to collect donations to make sure that all the students in our community get whatever they need to finish the school year strong.
CBS12 News was there as the foundation officially opened its new headquarters in Lake Worth Beach.
A 32,00 square foot facility will allow them to offer more programs and help more staff and students in more local schools as they celebrate more than 40 years serving the community.
Since 1984, the Education Foundation has been a resource for the Palm Beach County School District – awarding grants and scholarships to make sure students succeed in and out of the classroom.
Hundreds of educators, administrators, and donors were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We are really fortunate to have the education foundation support everything we do in our schools,” said Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Mike Burke.
See also: Turn-of-the-century cold case cracked in St. Lucie County
The new building houses the organization’s offices, community event space, and training rooms for teacher professional development.
It is also home to a 20,000 sq. ft. warehouse and an expanded Red Apple Supplies Showroom, where teachers can come and collect essential school supplies for their classrooms for free.
Thanks to individual donors and major sponsors like Florida Power and Light.
“Having a partner like the education foundation has been wonderful because we believe that investing in education, innovation, and sustainability is really the pillars of what helps communities thrive,” said Pam Rauch, VP Of External Affairs and Economic Development with FPL.
Now, teachers can order supplies online and pick them up in the drive-thru lane, as art teacher Dr. Shery Bennett did.
“What did you order?” asked CBS12’s Victoria De Cardenas.
“All kinds of backpacks, supplies like markers, notebooks, things that the kids can use every day,” replied Dr. Bennett.
Barton Elementary School teacher Lauren Hepworth had the honor of being the first in-store shopper.
It was a full-circle moment for her as she was the first shopper when Red Apple Supplies first opened its doors in 2016.
“I’m so humbled to be here and to be included in this celebration. I’m just so grateful for the education foundation and the Red Apple Supplies because they provide so much to our community, to our students, and to our teachers. They make such a difference,” said Hepworth.
CBS12 News tagged along as she loaded 2 shopping carts with supplies, alongside Superintendent Burke and the founder of Red Apple Supplies, Meredith Trim.
In nearly nine years, Red Apple Supplies has been operating, the education foundation has provided almost $8 million of school supplies for teachers and students in our area.
They also provided guests with a tasty lunch prepared by students in the West Boca Community High School Culinary Academy.
After the ribbon cutting, guests were given gift boxes – inside a View-Master – you may remember these as a kid.
The photos show the construction of this building, a reminder of how far they’ve come and where they plan on going.
If you’d like to support the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, you can donate cash, buy items from their Amazon wishlist which will be shipped directly to the foundation, or keep an eye out for the times and locations where we’ll have actual buses across the county where you can drop off school supplies to help local kids and their teachers.
Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter to get the day’s top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the biggest stories and can’t miss video.