Stocking Classrooms, Building Futures

A first-year teacher stands in an empty classroom with a key in her hand and a knot in her stomach. Twenty-six desks. Bare walls. One loud thought: School starts soon, and the room has almost nothing.

Dr. Megan Brown, an associate professor of education at Cedarville University, knows that moment well. Coursework can cover research and best practices. Training can shape strong habits. Still, the first year in a real classroom brings a different kind of weight — especially when the space begins as a blank slate.

Megan teaches literacy courses to future educators, and she talks plainly about what teaching requires. Learning is hands-on. Students need materials in their fingers so ideas can stick in their minds. Yet school budgets only stretch so far. Families can only do so much. Teachers often fill the gaps with their own money: pencils, tissues, notebooks, cleaning supplies, even backpacks. For a new teacher, those costs add up quickly.

That’s where Malena Ball comes in. A 2022 Cedarville graduate with a degree in strategic communication, Malena now serves as marketing director for Crayons to Classrooms. In that role, she helps connect educators to practical, personal support. The Dayton-area nonprofit provides free classroom supplies for teachers in 144 schools, reaching more than 50,000 students through the teachers it serves.

Malena has watched teachers push carts down the aisles and still expect a bill. “How much do I owe?” they ask, looking at the price tags left on some items to show their value. Volunteers smile back. “Nothing.” Relief softens shoulders, and gratitude shows up as tears. Being seen does that.

Crayons to Classrooms stocks the consumables that disappear by October — glue sticks, erasers, paper, pencils. But Malena calls it more than a resource center. It’s a care center. Teachers find air filters, hygiene products, Band-Aids, sanitizer, and tissues. Those supplies don’t just serve learning. They support dignity, comfort, and confidence.

Megan watched one new teacher arrive after visiting her classroom for the first time. Empty room. End of July. No paycheck yet. She left with two full carts squeezed into a small car and a face filled with relief. Now there was something to build with.

That “something” reaches far past academics. A spare notebook helps a student keep up. A backpack handed quietly to a child in foster care says, “This is yours.” A pencil offered without a lecture says, “You matter here.”

Megan and Malena shared these stories on the Cedarville Stories podcast. Their message? Equip teachers with training, care, and supplies. When teachers feel supported, students feel it too. And that feeling can shape those students’ futures.

https://share.transistor.fm/s/7fa1e2bd

https://youtu.be/_4X2P8hjSuk