CEDAR RAPIDS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Kathy Krehbiel/Lori Vana
                 319-848-5622     319-378-0101

Cedar Rapids Education Association announces Grand Opening of Teacher Store that offers much needed supplies in area classrooms

(Cedar Rapids) -The Cedar Rapids Education Association and Linn Area Credit Union announce the grand opening of Iowa's first-ever Teacher Store, which provides classroom materials and supplies at no cost to area educators and their students. The Teacher Store, located at 606 Fifth Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids, will open for tours and business on January 15, 2009 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The store is the only one of its kind in the Midwest. 

"This is a great bonus to our community.  We got hit hard with the flooding and many classroom supplies were destroyed.  While the outpouring of support was incredible, it's still going to take a lot of work to get our educators back to where they were before all of this happened.  And, on top of that, we now have budget cuts to deal with.  Our Teacher Store is really a godsend when you think about the cuts being made and what our folks are going to need for supplies and support in the classroom." said Gary Anhalt, Cedar Rapids Education Association (CREA) president.

Educators can purchase anything at the Store using "Teacher Bucks" available through the CREA, through participating in activities in the schools, and from the Linn Area Credit Union.

The Teacher Store solicits donations of goods to "sell" from area merchants. They gladly take overstock items, damaged, and seasonal goods. Current inventory items include paper, pens, crayons, pencils, glue, rulers, bulletin board supplies, teacher desks, desk chairs, white boards, cork boards, books, learning games, manipulatives, and other instructional materials.

"We got a great deal on gloves so we bought 400 pairs with a cash donation from a donor.  We had teachers snatch those up in the first part of winter like you wouldn't believe," said Kathy Krehbiel, CREA Director.  Teachers distributed every pair of gloves to students who did not have the proper warm weather gear to be able to participate in outdoor activities or for their walk home from school" Krehbiel added.

Cash donations are also welcome for use in inventory purchase. Items needed at this time include tissues, hand sanitizer, paper towels, bleach wipes, calculators, backpacks, electronics, gloves, hats and colored paper.

Teacher Store volunteers are available to pick up donations year round. Businesses and individuals who provide donations to the Teacher Store are given a receipt to be used as a charitable deduction when filing taxes. For more information, call 363-1646 to speak to a Teacher Store Volunteer or arrange pick up of merchandise.

Store hours are:

Tuesdays 4:00 - 7:00pm
Thursdays 4:00 - 7:00pm
Saturdays 10:00 - 3:00pm

The Cedar Rapids Education Association is an affiliate of the Iowa State Education Association.  The CREA represents over 1,200 local educators. The ISEA represents over 34,000 educators statewide.   Linn Area Credit Union has been the Teacher's Credit Union since 1935. Great Education….It's an Iowa Basic!