ZEELAND, Mich. — A Zeeland nurse is working to ease the financial burden on local teachers by connecting them with donated classroom supplies — for free.
WATCH: Zeeland organization Z CataList helps teachers get free classroom supplies through community donations
Jennifer Kroll founded Z CataList, a community organization that collects unused office supplies, art supplies, and other school materials, then makes them available to teachers through an online catalog with free delivery to their schools.
"It does not have to be a new package, it can be used. The whole idea is to keep things out of landfills," Kroll said.
Kroll, a lifelong Zeeland resident, said her experience as a PTO member gave her a firsthand look at how much teachers and parents spend on school supplies.
"Things are so expensive and teachers are spending so much money out of their own pockets, and PTO parents are also spending money out of their own pockets," Kroll said.
Donation bins for Z CataList can be found at Zeeland Public Schools, the Howard Miller Library, City on a Hill Ministries, and Family Fare in Zeeland.
Volunteers, called the "Thrift Squad," sort the donated items, add them to an online catalog, and deliver orders directly to schools at no cost.
The catalog is divided into several sections, including a curriculum-based catalog, a freebie catalog for office supplies, and a care catalog for neighbors in need.
"They also can at any time email. I've encouraged them, Hey, if you have a need and it's not in the catalog and you want something, please contact us and we will source it," Kroll said.
Dozens of new teachers got a firsthand look at the organization last Friday during Z CataList's Classroom Kickstart event.
"They came here to an open house and were given as many bags as they could fill, and they could just shop for free, take whatever they needed for their classroom, and let me know what they needed for the coming year," Kroll said.
The organization is based at 100 Pine St., Suite 385, within City on a Hill Ministries, and Kroll said they have nearly outgrown the space.
"Hopefully by the end of the year, we'll have our nonprofit status, and once we have that, we'll be able to expand, hopefully, the space so we have more room to host more volunteers, student groups," Kroll said. "We're working with the National Honor Society from the high schools this year, looking at also some autism classrooms where those kids can come after school and help and be volunteers here as well."
Two new programs are also in development. A program called "LiteraSeed" is set to launch this fall.
"That's collecting books, children's books, youth books, so that teachers can stock their classroom. We're also looking to expand to stocking Little Free Libraries in the community," Kroll said.
A second program, called Z-Cata-Loan, will function as a loan closet for items PTOs or teachers may only need once a year.
"They can check out items like carnival spinners or boxes of LEGOs or things that you don't want to store in your classroom or in your school, but you might need for a project or for a school event," said Kroll.
Kroll said the mission behind all of it comes down to supporting the educators who give so much to their students.
"I know many teachers, I'm friends with teachers, and I know that they just put their heart and soul into everything, and just having a well-educated populace and kids that are loving to learn for their entire life really takes a community behind them," Kroll said.
You can learn more about Z CataList by visiting their website. You can also email Kroll at ZCATALIST1@GMAIL.COM.
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