The Teachers’ Annex is one of Operation: Kid Equip’s distribution centers for teachers and staff in eligible schools to receive school day supplies for their students in need.  We have dynamic donated inventory of school supplies, classroom supplies, books, hygiene items, snacks and more.  There are no price tags or per-item fees.

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We work daily to find sources of new, gently-used, overrun and other types of supplies.

All of the products you see in the Teachers’ Annex are donated by local and national retailers, manufacturers and organizations.    Some products may have been destined for a landfill and OKE is able to repurpose them for local kids in need.

Unlike a retail store that can order specific products, OKE accepts whatever the donor is willing to provide.  We never know what types of products we are going to receive from one donation to the next.  This allows for an exciting and ever-changing inventory of items.

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Operation: Kid Equip is an all-volunteer program.  Community activists, teachers and groups donate their time to help keep the operation running smoothly.  Each volunteer is attracted to the vision and mission of OKE for a different reason.

Many teachers choose to volunteer after school and on weekends to help give back to the program.  OKE also has principals or teachers on the executive and advisory board to help guide the program to help meet the most current student needs.

It takes more than 5,000 volunteer hours a year to run the Teachers’ Annex.

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There are still costs involved in receiving and distributing the items.  Many of the product donors give us product donations, but OKE needs to incur the freight expense of bringing the donations in from across the nation.  Some of the semi trucks can cost $1,500-$2,000 because of distance and fuel costs.

There are also natural program expenses we can’t avoid to keep the Teachers’ Annex open.  Examples include warehousing, rent, utilities, fuel and insurance.  We work hard and negotiate to keep all of our costs low.

OKE receives no public funding and is completely funded through individuals, businesses and foundations.

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In 2011, the average teacher received more than $400 of donated product each time they visited the Teachers’ Annex. (as of October 31, 2011).

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While we do not charge schools or teachers an annual enrollment fee, we feel it is important for you to know the costs involved in receiving donated products to stock the shelves and keeping the supplies free of charge.  Operation: Kid Equip is expected to spend more than $1,000 a year for each school enrolled in our program; the per teacher cost is around $10 per visit.

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Most of the terms and conditions are listed within this FAQ.

Overall, by accepting tangible goods from Operation: Kid Equip, you agree to use the merchandise received for the benefit of your school building and/or students and in accordance with Internal Revenue Code Section 170(e)(3), which states that the merchandise must be used for the care of the ill, needy or minors. Items cannot be bartered, traded or sold.  Abuse of this system will result in revocation of shopping privileges.

By registering, making appointments or otherwise participating in the program, you are agreeing to all of our terms and conditions.

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Operation: Kid Equip may notify your school or district administration regarding all of the details of your visit.  This includes, but is not limited to, the total value of your shop and the items you received.

Operation: Kid Equip may also conduct random building visits and other measures to protect the integrity of the donated products and to offer accountability to our product donors.

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Yes.  We don’t like doing it, but we’ve had to on certain occasions.

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The complete list can be found here.

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Your building must be in Macomb, Oakland or Wayne County.  We also only accept schools with 70% or more of the students eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program.

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The best way to start the conversation is to have the principal open a support desk ticket to discuss the next steps.

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No.  We only approve public schools, and charter schools run by a 501(c)(3) corporation.

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In rare instances, charter schools may not approved because the IRS Form 990 wasn’t publicly available.  If the 990 was available, the form may be showing unusually high management fees, salaries or other expenses compared to other schools.

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Regardless of Title I status, your building must have 70% or more of the students eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program in order to participate in the program.

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OKE recently changed its policies and no longer automatically adds schools to the list.

If your school meets eligibility requirements, but is not on the list, perhaps there have been no inquiries from any of the staff in your building.

Other buildings were previously added, but are no longer on the list due to low to no interest in program participation.

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Approval to participate in the Teachers’ Annex program is not automatic and is by invitation only.  Program invitations and continued participation is a privilege, not a right.

OKE bases its decision on supply, demand and school interest/participation.  Beyond the 70% poverty requirement, we don’t further analyze or classify our schools.  Since we only work with higher poverty schools, no one eligible school is entitled to participation over another.

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Teachers at an eligible school may click here to register for an account.

All accounts will be reviewed, validated and verified before approval.  Only teachers who are listed on an eligible school’s staff roster will have their accounts approved.

The approval process can take 24-36 hours.  You only need to create an account once.

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If you are already registered, you can click here to get your username or password e-mailed to you.

Please do not create a new or duplicate account.

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You can click here to get your username and password e-mailed to you.

If you don’t receive it, you may not be registered (or entered your wrong e-mail information when you registered.)

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Please log into your account and make sure you entered your e-mail address correctly.

If you are still not receiving communications, it may be beneficial to list your personal e-mail address instead of your school e-mail.

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If you have already been approved for an account, you may click here to make an appointment online.

All appointment scheduling, re-scheduling and cancellations are performed online. For your convenience, the online scheduling system is completely self-service, and is available 24/7.

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You will not receive appointment confirmations or automatic appointment reminders from the system.

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You may cancel your appointment by clicking here.

If you are not able to make your appointment, you may reschedule your appointment as many times as necessary. However, you must cancel at least 24 hours prior to your appointment time in order to reschedule another time.

Please remember that we schedule volunteers based on the number of appointments per day.  Many of the volunteers alter their daily plans to be of service to you at the Teachers’ Annex.

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If you do not show up for your scheduled time, or do not cancel 24 hours prior to your shopping time, you may temporarily lose shopping privileges for three months.

Remember, all changes and cancellations must be initiated by you through the online appointment system. Telephone calls, voicemails and e-mails will not be accepted.

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Only teachers, paid staff and administrators within an OKE eligible school can participate in the Teachers’ Annex program.

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Paid aides and parapros may participate in the program if the teacher they are supporting does not shop in the same month.

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No. Only paid staff members, who are listed on the staff roster, may participate in the program.

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Approved staff members are permitted to shop once per month.

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As a supplemental school supply program, the Teachers’ Annex is not designed to provide class sets of supplies, or to fill teachers’ closets.  The program is designed to provide for the immediate needs of individual students.  Stockpiling for the future takes supplies away from a student who needs them right now.

We know that not all of the students need all the supplies.  Many teachers report that they scan their classroom for student needs and make a list before coming to the Teachers’ Annex.  Some teachers may even consider a ‘would be nice list’ and a ‘student must have list’.  An obvious effort by the teacher to identify the immediate needs of students will help the OKE volunteers make a decision regarding relaxing limits on certain items.

Teachers requesting class sets of core schools supplies may require a school visit from an OKE executive to assess the needs of the school/classroom so a targeted distribution plan can be completed.

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You are allowed 60 minutes to complete shopping. Your 60 minutes begins at your scheduled time, so please arrive on time.  Your shopping time starts when you are scheduled, not when you arrive.

If your weekday appointment is at 5:30, or your Saturday appointment at 1PM, please bear in mind that the doors will close at 6:00PM during the week, and at 1:30PM on Saturday.

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Teachers/approved representatives may only shop for one classroom per visit. You will not be allowed to shop for other teachers during your visit.

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Due to space limitations, please do not bring a shopping companion or children to the Teachers’ Annex.

If you have a temporary or permanent disability, you may bring a companion to help you carry your basket or boxes.

The Teachers’ Annex now offers special days when you can bring your children with you to the Teachers’ Annex.  Watch your teacher newsletter for details.

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Operation: Kid Equip staff and volunteers are not permitted to load vehicles.

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When you arrive at the Teachers’ Annex, you should bring:

• a form of photo ID, such as a school ID badge or driver’s license.
• bags or boxes to pack your items.
• homework from your last visit

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Donors love the drawings messages they receive from the children.  Their continued financial and product donations keep the shelves filled.  With that in mind, you are asked to have your students complete the thank you “homework assignment.”

We prefer letters and cards up to the size of a regular manila envelope.  The best salutation is “Dear OKE Donor”.

For privacy, we ask that students do not write their last names on the letters and cards they create.

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All items in the Teachers’ Annex are provided free of charge.  Some teacher resource centers across the nation are charging annual enrollment or ‘per bag’ fees to help cover the costs of rent, utilities and program operations. At the Teachers’ Annex you will only be asked for a suggested $10 donation so you can help keep the supplies free and the shelves stocked.

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Our distribution system is based on supply and demand, and the needs of the thousands of students and teachers we serve.

Items may be limited in quantity to ensure that merchandise is fairly distributed to all schools and their students.

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There are no rainchecks or special orders available.

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If one of your students ever has a special need, please let us know and we’ll get right on it.  We will not seek out classroom supplies like equipment or other items for classroom use.

We will seek out anything students need to successfully get through the school day.  Use this form to tell us about special or unique student needs.  We can then reach out to our extensive network to assist in finding special supplies or items students need.

For an example of how we can help with unique student needs, check out this recent Smile Alert.

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Yes, the expectation is that the supplies are provided directly to the students to keep.

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All items received from Operation: Kid Equip must stay in your current school.

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Teachers may not keep products for personal use outside of the school.  Supplies distributed from the Operation: Kid Equip Teachers’ Annex are for student and classroom use only. All items provided to teachers must be used in their classrooms, for the benefit of their own students.

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All tangible items are conveyed “as-is, where-is” with no warranty, express or implied, of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, or any other warranties or guarantees. By accepting these goods, you will have no recourse against Operation: Kid Equip, or any of their officers, employees, partners, donors, suppliers or agents.

All donations are final. If any item is unfit for use, please have it fixed, at your expense; or properly dispose of it.

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Michigan Friends of Education – Operation: Kid Equip does not take responsibility for the content of the donated books. Some of the books may contain language you may consider inappropriate; such as language describing graphic violence, sexual activity or use of foul language. Although we do our best to match the material with the population we serve, we strongly suggest you review the books prior to distribution.

If you find books you do not wish to distribute, and cannot find individuals who could use them, they may be discarded.

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The Super Saver Society is a giving circle of teachers who support the Operation: Kid Equip program with a recurring donation of at least $10 per month.

Members of the Super Saver Society provide us with a dependable stream of donations so we can keep our focus on getting more donated products and less time on fundraising.

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Members of the society come together for a quarterly reception at the Teachers’ Annex.  Members also receive special acknowledgement and other opportunities throughout the year.

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The Super Saver Society was developed by teachers for teachers.  Any staff person in an OKE eligible school may join.

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You can join online by making a recurring donation, or you can bring your credit card with you to the Teachers’ Annex to get set up.

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coming soon

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