Local club donates supplies

PORTALES - Investment in education is a key goal for many in our society. Yet, investing in and of itself is a sacrifice, especially for teachers. From paper and books to time and money, teachers invest much of their life into the wellbeing of students. So a local nonprofit took the opportunity to lighten the load for educators.

The Portales Woman's Club on Sept. 9 donated enough supplies to fill two sport utility vehicles to Brown Early Childhood and Development Center.

"We donated two SUVs full of school supplies with overstock, paper and, dry erase markers, underwear, socks. We donated all that ... and when we delivered it, it took a bunch of us to unload it," said club President Noelle Bartl.

School officials were ready, and grateful, to receive the donation.

"Our gratitude cannot be contained. We were truly blessed beyond measure by your kind hearts and generous superpowers to help others. Thank you all so much graciously," said Anna Brock, assistant principal of Brown Early Childhood and Development, in an email to the PWC.

COVID-19 did little to derail efforts.

"Since our first meeting for the year is always in September, we always have an education theme to that first monthly meeting ... we always ask the members to donate school supplies to that first meeting. Well, our first meeting we ended up doing through Zoom, So we weren't able to really meet in person. And people still delivered and dropped off items to a couple of us, and they really got behind it," Bartl said.

While education is always a receiver of volunteer work, PWC saw something special in Brown Early Childhood and Development.

"They're very deserving of it. Early childhood education is a top priority, right now. So we want to get behind those teachers, plus just the school's getting back into the groove after COVID. And that's the age group that can really use paper as they're practicing all their writing skills," Bartl said.

Not only do the supplies take a load off for the teachers, it was exactly what was needed for this year's curriculum.

"It helps the teachers because it takes a little bit of pressure off of them to purchase needed things for those kids for instruction. It's also going to help because we have a writing focus this year in our curriculum, and all the papers that came, they're going to use to help implement our writing initiative," Brock said.

The start of a school year, especially during a pandemic, can be challenging. This is true even with Brown Early Childhood Center's situation. In June, remodeling began on the original wings that were built in 1948.

"We had to move out of half of our building. And so we are doubled and tripled in rooms in the side that we're currently utilizing," Brock said. "We're navigating piles of rocks, we're navigating cement being poured ... we have orange cones everywhere, caution tape, part of the playground's roped off."

Yet, the students, and teachers, have taken this in stride.

"Our faculty and staff have been inspirational and being flexible, to not only navigating a pandemic here, but virtual learning, learning how to teach without children in their classrooms, and being flexible in last-minute changes due to construction. It's inspiring what they're enduring," Brock said.

Giving makes a community stronger, Bartl said.

"In my opinion, it helps create a cycle of give and take. And it helps bind us as a community; that they help us and we help them. That's one of the things that makes Portales so incredible and amazing is that community spirit that unites us all," Brock said.