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Company fulfills teachers’ wishes
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Lindsay Czopur, an employee of Turning Technologies, carries one of the boxes headed to P. Ross Berry Eighth and Ninth Grade Academy.
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
Turning Technologies and its foundation fulfilled the wishes of city schoolteachers, donating 18 boxes of supplies and materials.
“Teachers are probably our biggest unsung heroes,” said Mike Broderick, Turning’s chief executive.
The company, located on West Federal Street downtown, wants to be a good corporate citizen, he said.
Howard Tattrie, a Turning employee, spotted the city schools’ teachers’ wish list published online a few months ago and forwarded it to Broderick. Employees brought in items requested by teachers, from glue and notebooks to pencils and arts-and-crafts supplies as well as more than $2,600.
Turning Technologies also plans to donate its student-response systems to several city classrooms, the chief executive said.
He hopes other companies help the schools, too.
John Wilson, director of the Turning Technologies Foundation, agreed.
“As an educational company based in downtown Youngstown, we are keenly aware of one of the biggest needs in our community – quality education,” he said in a news release. “We are also aware of some of the challenges facing teachers in Youngstown City Schools. Our employees are happy to be able to help in a small way to meet some of those needs. We also want to challenge other local businesses to get involved and support Youngstown City Schools.”
Superintendent Connie Hathorn said the district can’t provide many of the materials for the students, and many teachers dig into their own pockets to provide those materials. Turning Technologies’ donations will help.
“This shows how involved the community is in the school system,” he said.
Earlier this year, Karen Ingraham, district communication director, asked teachers to submit lists of items they needed for their classrooms. At first, the response was slow, she said, but more teachers got involved as the year progressed.
Those lists were posted on the district website where Turning Technologies found them.
She plans to ask teachers to submit their wishes next school year as well.