GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As staff prepared to bring kids back to Fruitport Community Schools, an unfortunate discovery was made inside a storage unit where classroom supplies were being kept — mice had chewed through the carpets. As if that wasn't bad enough, dozens of tables had taken a beating through exposure to the elements, having been in storage for more than two years.
“Somehow, the storage unit retained moisture, so the tables bowed and the legs of the tables rusted,” Charlotte Simpson, a Kindergarten teacher in the district, said. “We were not able to use anything. It all had to go.”
Close to 70 tables were destroyed, she said, and it could not have come at a worse time – the very end of summer break, right before students returned to the classrooms. The teachers were told there was enough money in the district's budget to replace the carpets, but replacing the tables would have to wait until next year. That’s when Simpson decided to take matters into her own hands.
“I got on eBay and started to look for classroom tables and came across a table that I thought would work well for littles,” she said. “I messaged the person that had it posted it, explained our situation, and asked her the lowest amount they would take for the table since I would be paying for it out of pocket. Right away, she reached back and said ‘actually, we may be able to donate these tables to you.’ I just had to get some paperwork in place to show that we were a nonprofit, and get that all sent over to them. Then we found out she had 73 tables!”
As it turns out, the tables were coming from Grand Rapids Community College. The original asking price was $250 per table, or best offer. Once GRCC confirmed Simpson was a local teacher paying out of pocket for her own classroom, they opted to donate all 73 tables.
“We were able to get tables for every kindergarten classroom in our district,” Simpson said. “It's crazy. I mean, the amount of money those tables would have cost us to do that for the district, and they just gave them to us.”
She said it’s still hard to believe everything played out so perfectly, and all because she was willing to foot the bill so her kindergarten students could sit together at tables.
“I am strong in my faith,” Simpson said. “I feel like this was God. He just works in this way. He knew, He really did know that I needed this. I've been teaching 20 plus years, and I know these kids need to be in tables. They need to be working with each other. It needs to be fun. It needs to be enjoyable. And I was like ‘I'll just pay out of pocket, so I can do what's right for them.’ And He knew, He just knew that I needed this.”
The tables could have come from anywhere, and Simpson would have been thrilled. The fact that they came from another local school district makes this thoughtful donation even more special, she said.
“I can’t express how wonderful this is,” Simpson said. “If more schools looked after each other and helped each other out, imagine where our kids would be in this whole state. That's how we have to be. We all have to help one another. For the kids. They’re why we're here. They're the reason we do what we do.”
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