ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – 10News and Publix employees loaded a little different cargo into a Publix truck Monday morning.
No meat or produce. Instead, an assembly line hoisted box after box of school supplies into the trailer.
10News and the Publix semi are on a Tools for School tour this week. Our first stop: Belleair Elementary in Clearwater.
“This is, like, wow!”, Belleair Principal Tabitha Griffin exclaimed when she saw all the boxes. “You guys are making so many children’s dreams come true!”
Opening a box in one classroom, anchor Allison Kropff witnesses firsthand a fifth-grade frenzy, as students grab for markers, pencils, crayons, and glue.
“I was surprised and excited and I couldn't believe what just happened,” said a grinning Yuri Price after seeing all the school supplies.
Anchor Reginald Roundtree got into the delivery action too and somehow found another Miami Hurricanes fan.
“Look at the colors he picked!” said teacher Aldo Novaro, holding up orange and green folders.
For teachers like Novaro, the boxes hold more than pens and paper; they contain a message of community care.
“It means we’re not by ourselves. There’s somebody out there that knows the struggle we go through and they actually want to lend a hand,” he said.
At Gulf Trace Elementary in Holiday, “Thank You” signs decorated school walls and this reporter got to have some fun with kindergartners. They laughed as I pretended the box was almost too heavy to lift.
Joking aside, the boxes contain much-needed supplies and will help teachers who often dig into their own pockets to supply their students.
Clutching colored pencils, 5-year-old Annalise McVey knows exactly what they're good for.
“Drawing rainbows,” she told me.
The teachers and kids are grateful, and for everyone who donated to Tools for School at their Publix store, 10-year-old Jenna Boggs has this to say, “Thank you oh, so much. I can’t use words to describe how happy I am.”
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