In 1999, Portland Public School parent Katie Gold, was in a dentist's office waiting for her children, when she picked up a magazine and began reading about a free store for teachers in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“I knew as soon as I read the article, I wanted to open one in Portland,” Gold says. “Each year, when I purchased supplies for my children’s classrooms, I often wondered how I would manage if I was a single parent living on limited resources. This idea resonated with me.”

Gold discovered that over 20,000 children in the Portland school district live at or below the poverty line. Purchasing school supplies was simply a luxury most families could not afford. Consequently, dedicated teachers were spending an average of $600 - $1,000 each year to provide the basic and necessary supplies their students needed.

“It appalled me that students in our high poverty schools did not have the same opportunity to learn as those in our more affluent schools. How can you close the achievement gap when you don’t have enough pencils for your students?” says Gold.

Recycling used and surplus office supplies made sense to Gold who knew that the environmentally conscious community of Portland would embrace the idea.

“Recycling at the office and home is part of our everyday lives here. Giving businesses an outlet for their unwanted materials to enhance their recycling efforts, provide them with a tax credit and help our budget strapped schools did not seem like a difficult idea to sell.”        

After a year of fundraising and gaining community support, Schoolhouse Supplies opened its doors to 11 low-income Portland public schools in January 2000. 

Five years later, Schoolhouse Supplies is now an award-winning organization serving all 130 Portland Public Schools (including charter and alternative programs) - representing over 47,000 students - from a 9,300 square foot warehouse on the campus of Madison High School in northeast Portland. The program has distributed school supplies with an estimated value of over $8 million to public schools and programs and has diverted tens of tons of materials from the landfill. 

“The support for the program has simply been overwhelming.” says Gold. “We have the most amazing volunteer base, a tremendous staff, advisory board and incredible partnerships with hundreds of businesses.”

While not involved in the day to day operations for some time now, Gold volunteers on Schoolhouse Supplies committees and continues to advise individuals across the country about how to open free stores.

Gold insists the success of the program belongs to the community and the staff at Schoolhouse Supplies. “I threw the rock in the water. Our community embraced the idea, took that ripple and turned it into an incredible wave of support.”

Gold can be reached at katiegold@comcast.net .