RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A nonprofit organization that supports the School District of Palm Beach County is planning a major expansion to respond to the growing need among teachers.
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County runs a program providing school supplies to teachers in Title I schools. But it needs more room to grow.
A large property on Barton Road in Lake Worth Beach doesn't look like much right now, but it will one day be home to the Education Foundation as the organization builds a 32,000 square-foot facility to better serve teachers in our community.
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Shopping for free school supplies at Red Apple Supplies in Riviera Beach is a highlight for teacher Dr. Edwina Osborne.
"We have seen more of a need," Osborne said. "Even pencils. Some things we might take for granted that students will have — pencils and paper — some of them really have been depending on us to help them with those things."
Osborne teaches at Riviera Beach Preparatory and Achievement Academy, on the same property as the Education Foundation's Red Apple Supplies store.
"Saving money by having the materials provided by Red Apple is very very helpful to us," Osborne said. "We really appreciate that. Because we do go into our pockets less because we have those materials available."
But Red Apple Supplies is out of room.
"Remember, it's all storage. When you are talking about school supplies, it's bulk. So you require a lot of storage to keep the inventory and get it out the door," said James Gavrilos, the president and CEO of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County. "So we are kind of limited to how many schools we can serve because of how much inventory we can keep in stock."
Gavrilos said that's where the new Lake Worth Beach campus comes in, trading the current 4,000 square-foot facility for 20,000 square feet of showroom and warehouse space.
"This will give us the capacity to serve every school in the district," Gavrilos said. "In five years, no teacher in Palm Beach County will ever have to again dip into their pocket to buy school supplies."
Right now, 80 Title I schools — meaning 70% of students are at or below the poverty line — are part of the Red Apple Supplies program, but there's a long waiting list.
"Each year, as we add more schools, we have more schools asking to be part of the Red Apple Supplies system," Gavrilos said. "Certainly this last year with the spike in inflation, the spike in gas prices."
"Teachers will come ask me for something and I'll say, 'wait, did you check Red Apple out first? They may have it free for us,'" said Mark Simmonds, the principal at Riviera Beach Preparatory and Achievement Academy. "So I'm excited to see when they are excited to save a dollar."
While Simmonds is happy more schools will soon take advantage of the program, he admits he's going to miss when the Education Foundation moves to its new location.
"I will lose that direct contact, but [Gavrilos] is always in my cell phone. Red Apple is always in my cell phone," Simmonds said.
The new building, which is located on 3.7 acres across from Barton Elementary School in Lake Worth Beach, is expected to be completed sometime in 2024.
It's a $15 million project from start to finish — including an endowment, reserve account for repairs, and a building cost of $12 million — with $10.5 million already raised.
"There's excitement, there's pride, but an overwhelming sense of community," Gavrilos said.
The School District of Palm Beach County is leasing the Education Foundation the land for $1 a year for 75 years.
FPL and Ventus Charitable Foundation made sizable donations to get the campaign started. A grant from the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County will pay to demolish what's currently on the property.
There are 120 Title I schools in the School District of Palm Beach County. By the end of the year, Red Apple Supplies will be serving 91 schools. As part of the program, teachers are able to shop for supplies twice a year.
For more information about the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County's new showroom and warehouse and how to support it, click here.