Kim Yarbrough is organizer of this year’s Teacher Appreciation Day, sponsored by the Colquitt County Arts Center.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The second Teacher Appreciation Day will take place Tuesday, July 31, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Colquitt County Arts Center.

During the event, the teachers of Colquitt County will be provided with free school supplies to help them prepare for the upcoming school year.

The idea of Teacher Appreciation started from Connie Fritz, executive director of the Colquitt County Arts Center, who saw a need in the community and addressed it.

“We took a look around and saw that a lot was done to get school supplies for students, but there was nothing for the teachers,” said Fritz. “So I reached out with a Facebook post and the community got behind it, then once they got behind it the school board got behind it and we made it happen last year.”

The Education Market Association says that virtually all teachers wind up paying out of pocket for supplies. On average, most spent nearly $500 last year and one in 10 spent $1,000 or more, the group said.

The Colquitt County Arts Center looks to alleviate some of that pressure. Kimberly Yarbrough, a former teacher and current program and education director of the Colquitt County Arts Center, is in charge of this year’s Teacher Appreciation Day. She said the focus remains the same, which is to help teachers.

“I was a teacher here, so I have a connection with this county and this school system,” said Yarbrough. “In this county, we have such a large community of people who live below the poverty level that no student is required to bring supplies to school. You can suggest to parents what their child needs, but more often than not it falls on the teachers to buy their own supplies.”

Last year’s Teacher Appreciation Day brought in more than 100 teachers from the Moultrie-Colquitt County area, and they look to increase that number this year.

If you or anyone you know would like to donate supplies, there are three drop-off locations around Moultrie: the Colquitt County Arts Center, South Georgia Banking Company and the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library — or you can call the Colquitt County Arts Center at (229) 985-1922.