A Day Made Better is a program originally introduced by our parent company, OfficeMax, in response to research showing that today's teachers spend a significant amount of their personal money on buying essential supplies for their classrooms and students. In Canada, teachers spend about $453 every year doing just that. Teachers play an important role in every community, providing the encouragement and motivation that young people need to be their best, so A Day Made Better was created to end "teacher-funded classrooms" and recognize those teachers who go above and beyond.
In our second year with the program, Grand & Toy received 42 applications from students, parents and colleagues, which is an 83% increase over 2009. Every one of them described an exceptional teacher who has made the lives of students better through his or her contributions in the classroom.
Grand & Toy was proud to give back to teachers through the donation and surprise delivery of a new chair and office supplies valued at about $2,000 to 12 winning teachers in 2010.
One special group of Grand & Toy Associates even travelled the ocean on a mission to deliver the prize to a deserving teacher!
Rising at 5:00 a.m. one morning, the Victoria Grand & Toy Sales Office employees chartered a boat for a two-hour trip across British Columbia's Georgia Strait that took them to a small, remote school with limited access on Lasqueti Island. Determined to make the award presentation in person, the Associates invested their own time (and a few hours of regular sleep!) in order to visit with teachers and students and share in their excitement.
Reid Wilson of False Bay School couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a group of strangers pushing an office chair up the steep and rocky hill towards his classroom. With a total population of only 350 residents, the students of False Bay School aren't used to seeing many visitors, let alone receiving unexpected supplies like markers, paper, tape, glue sticks, staplers, and a new "boom box" for recess!
The impact made by our Associates was evident in the correspondence received by some of the students:
"What I liked most about your visit was how kind you all were. We were very happy that you came so far just to give us all of that stuff. You were very chill when you got here instead of complaining about the big hill you had to push your cart up!
I also wanted to thank you for coming here from Victoria. I heard that you had to get up at 5:00 in the morning to get here at 10:00. You were very nice to do that for all of us. We really appreciate it because we don't get to have that many visitors on this island of ours."
Your friend,
A student in Grade 5
The gratitude of the children and the teacher definitely resulted in A Day Made Better for everyone!