Two Fort Collins Teachers had their Project Wishes Granted

Annie Lindgren

North Forty News

To honor the creative efforts teachers have made to maneuver their ever-shifting learning environments and keep students engaged this past year, SONIC® Drive-In donated $1.5 million to teacher requests on national education nonprofit site DonorsChoose on Teacher Appreciation Day, May 4. As part of SONIC’s ongoing Limeades for Learning initiative, the $1.5 million donations helped fund more than 7,000 teacher requests across the country in need of critical resources, including two teachers in Fort Collins, Colo., who received a combined donation of $143.00. 

On Teacher Appreciation Day, the brand matched 50 percent of each donation made to all teacher requests on DonorsChoose. In Fort Collins, the following teachers at two schools received funding: 

1. Ms. Becky at Johnson Elementary School for the project “Get Outside and Stay Healthy!”

Ms. Becky works with three to five-year-olds with special needs attending the Head Start Preschool Program. For her project, she wanted to provide materials to encourage her students to get outside this summer, stepping away from technology while still learning. Sidewalk chalk, buckets, shovels, and balls helped with this goal, and she raised $254 to make it happen.

“Creativity is nourished as the children color with chalk and dig and explore in nature with the shovels and buckets. These materials also help build nerve connections within the brain which support a child’s ability in completing more complex learning tasks,” explains Ms. Becky, seeing her project become a reality thanks to donations. 

    2. Mrs. Olsen at Tavelli Elementary School for the project “Helping Give Headphones For Sensational Second Graders”

 Ms. Olson teaches Second Graders, and this pandemic year was her 22nd year of teaching. Her project was to get noise-canceling headphones to use while the students work at their computers or need quiet time. Headphones are on the student supply list, but not all students can afford to bring in a pair to keep at school. Meeting her $264 project goal, now all her students have good quality headphones to use in the classroom.

Ms. Olson shares with gratitude, “My second graders will be utilizing these daily and for many years. I appreciate your kindness and generosity. These headphones will make a big difference in our classroom.”

“Teachers took this past year head-on, engineering a variety of innovative methods to keep their students learning in both in-person and virtual classrooms,” said Lori Abou Habib, chief marketing officer for SONIC. “We express our gratitude to teachers like these, who create inspirational learning environments for students during a challenging time. With SONIC’s $1.5 million donation match, we were able to help teachers access much-need supplies to complete this school year successfully.” 

SONIC is committed to helping teachers now in this time of need and all year long. Through Limeades for Learning, SONIC has donated more than $19 million to public school teachers, helping more than 36,000 teachers and impacting nearly 7.4 million students in public schools nationwide since 2009. Visit LimeadesforLearning.com to learn about future funding opportunities and explore public school teacher requests in your local community in need of support.

About SONIC® Drive-In

SONIC, founded in 1953, is the largest drive-in restaurant brand in the United States, with more than 3,500 restaurants in 46 states. Served by SONIC’s iconic Carhops, the restaurant’s expansive, award-winning menu offers unique breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and drink options for the whole family. SONIC is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. For more information, visit SonicDriveIn.com and InspiredBrands.com.

About DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose is the leading way to give to public schools. Since 2000, 4.7 million people and partners have contributed $1 billion to support nearly 2 million teacher requests for classroom resources and experiences. As the most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors, and district administrators alike, DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to the classroom, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Charity Navigator and GuideStar have awarded DonorsChoose, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, their highest ratings for transparency and accountability. For more information, visit www.donorschoose.org.