Group gives $40,000 boost to public schools
New school supplies worth $40,000 were delivered this week to Bermuda’s public primary schools.
The goods were given to teachers and pupils on Tuesday and yesterday by group Supporting Public Schools.
Juliana Snelling, a lawyer and the founder of SPS, said that about $10,000 worth of used supplies were also dropped off at schools.
Ms Snelling said that the response from pupils had been tremendous.
She added: “Some of them came out with thank-you cards and thank-you posters already prepared.”
Ms Snelling added that a number of pupils also made thank-you speeches.
The two-day drive was the third time SPS had delivered school supplies since it was founded in June last year.
Supplies for Primary 5 and Primary 6 pupils were targeted this time around after earlier efforts supported Primary 2 and 3 children.
Ms Snelling said a total of about $185,000 worth of new supplies and equipment had been given to public primary schools, as well as about $150,000 in second-hand supplies, including computers, furniture and office supplies.
Supplies are requested by teachers through a wish list and bought by members of the public through the SPS website.
Ms Snelling said that the new goods donated this week ranged from traditional school supplies, including paper, pens and printers, to sports equipment such as yoga mats.
She added that the mats were a popular item requested by teachers.
Ms Snelling said: “We’ve gotten wonderful thank-yous from the children and told that they feel more at peace in their school because they are doing yoga.”
She added that companies such as insurance firm Argus, reinsurer MS Amlin and Premier Tickets, as well as the Green family, owners of the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, had all helped out.
Ms Snelling added that Butterfield Bank had purchased $20,000 worth of new supplies.
She said that Dwayne Outerbridge, Butterfield’s head of group asset management, had helped hand out supplies at Francis Patton Primary School in Hamilton Parish, where he was once a pupil.
Ms Snelling said that Mr Outerbridge was a “big inspiration” to pupils.
Mr Outerbridge added the bank was proud to support SPS for a second year “and to contribute tools and supplies the teachers and students need for an enhanced learning experience”.
Zoë Kempe-Gibson, Butterfield’s marketing manager, said that bank staff had enjoyed delivering the supplies.
She added: “It was wonderful to see the excitement on the children’s faces as printers, art supplies and books were offloaded from the delivery trucks.”
Ms Kempe-Gibson said that SPS was an “amazing initiative”.
She added: “It was great to see so many people from the community come together to help ensure our children and teachers succeed.”