The students sat as patiently as their second-grade bodies would allow while their George G. Blaisdell Elementary School teacher, Patricia Grady, laboriously opened a tightly sealed cardboard box containing surprises for each of them.

When the last flap of the box finally surrendered to Grady and revealed small blue boxes of school supplies, one child exclaimed, “Everybody gets a Christmas present.”

The Yoobi Classroom Pack boxes, which were delivered Tuesday to each of the classrooms at GGB as well as School Street Elementary School in Bradford, contained advance supplies provided by the Teacher’s Desk program based in Buffalo, N.Y. Teachers at both schools have also set up shopping dates to travel to a large supply store in Buffalo where they can participate in shopping sprees for their classrooms.

GGB Principal Erin Waugaman said Grady informed her of the program which had been founded in 2011 by John Mika, a retired auto worker. Mika was working in a second career as a substitute teacher in urban and suburban Catholic schools in Buffalo when he noticed the differences in classroom supplies when comparing city to suburban campuses. The observation struck home when Mika couldn’t find a box of tissues in a Buffalo classroom for a little boy with a runny nose.

This prompted Mika to give the boy his handkerchief — and resolve to develop a program that would provide every child the same access to supplies, regardless of where they attend school.

To date, the program has distributed more than $10 million in products to teachers at school districts that have 70 percent of their student population on free and reduced lunches.

“When I signed our school up, (Mika) was excited because he didn’t have any schools down this far (in Pennsylvania), typically it’s the Buffalo area schools and suburbs,” Waugaman explained.

Grady said she and some of the other GGB classroom teachers have set up a date in October to drive to Buffalo for their supplies.

“You schedule a date and then you have an hour to shop at the store,” Waugaman said of the shopping expedition where teachers go through a variety of stations at the supply store and grab items such as tissues, pencils, pens, paper and other products.

Grady said the program will help as there have been times when she and other teachers have had to purchase supplies for their classrooms.

“We’re very lucky that our school districts have supplies for the students, but sometimes we run low” on markers or glue sticks, Grady admitted. “Towards the end of the year it gets low — this will alleviate some of that pressure.”

When contacted, Mika said the nonprofit program currently helps school districts in Olean and Salamanca, N.Y., but more districts from that area are welcome to apply. Mika said that in addition to Grady’s pitch to the administration, the program had connected with Bradford through the Pepperell Braiding company, which is based in Massachusetts and has a branch operation in Bradford.

When Pepperell Braiding offered to donate supplies to the program from its warehouse in Bradford, Mika learned of Bradford Area School District and the need for supplies for its students.

“That’s how the relationship started,” Mika explained, noting the program originally had been intended for New York state schools.

Mika said the program, which operates on donations and supplies from businesses and foundations, will consider helping other schools in the Twin Tiers area that meet the financial criteria. He noted the mission of the program is to show the goodness of God by distributing free school supplies to students in need, encouraging teachers and providing purpose through volunteerism.

Students at GGB directly benefited from this goodness when Grady handed them their new supplies. As she pulled out the small blue boxes from the large cardboard pack, Grady identified several items for the children.

“Look at this, erasers, glue sticks and crayons … blue pencils, sharpeners and rulers,” Grady said with as much excitement as the children.

At that, a little girl yelled, “It’s for everybody, it’s everything we need.”  

For more information on applying for the program, or donating, visit teachersdesk.org online.