Thank you, Teachers!

At Together Rising, we have deep gratitude for teachers — and all of the late-night lesson planning, early-morning grading, and all-day character building they do — to shape the little hearts and minds that will shape the world. So, one week ago, Together Rising decided to give away grants to teachers across the country who are digging deep into their own pockets to equip classrooms of big back-to-school dreams on shoestring budgets. We were astounded to receive nearly 3,000 applications in three days. The requests mirrored all that we love in our teachers – they were thoughtful, resourceful, tireless, full of heart and optimism. We were so moved by the way these teachers planned to invest in our kids, we more than doubled our original giving commitment. All told, we disbursed more than $20,000 of giving to teachers today. Here are some of the types of investments you made in our students through Together Rising:* I would like to purchase children’s books for my classroom library that are reflective of the diversity of my students. The majority of my students are black and brown and there are few books in our library that feature kids like them. I want my students to be able to to see themselves in the pages of the books they read! * I would like to start a before school morning kindness club for girls that focuses on being kind and brave. The girls kindness club would be a safe space for 1st-5th graders to meet new friends, talk about areas where they are struggling or feeling lonely, and feel encouragement from each other. * I would like to purchase some bean bag chairs and meditation mats to help my students learn to self regulate and meditate. My awesome students often become over stimulated and disregulated. I have experimented with meditation techniques to help calm students and it has been very effective. I would love to create a space in my classroom to further this practice.* In the third grade at my school, we study farming around the world and our connection to the earth. For many years, we have put off dreams of terraced raised beds for the children to garden in. If gifted these funds, I would purchase wood, soil, and mulch to build new raised garden beds. This would be a building project we would take on together, and that would be able to be used by classes for years to come. Teachers, if your request was one that we were able to fulfill, you received an email from Together Rising today. Please check your email – including your Spam folder – for more information. To all teachers: We SEE you. We thank you for shaping and saving lives. Your loving, honorable leadership has never been more critical. Our gratitude is endless.

G & Together Rising