SEATTLE, May 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Across the country, there are more than four million
teachers 1 who fuel a lifelong passion for education by
inspiring and shaping the future minds of tomorrow. Today, zulily,
the online retailer obsessed with bringing special finds every day
to its customers, is launching a week-long celebration in honor of
National Teacher Appreciation Week. Through a series of curated
collections, zulily will spotlight six incredible teachers who are
winners of the zulily Thank a Teacher Contest, based on
inspirational stories submitted by zulily customers.
The growing costs associated with children's education is not
limited to parents alone. The average teacher spends
$500 investing in their classroom,
with one in ten having spent $1,000
or more.2 In honor of their commitment, zulily
kicked off the Thank a Teacher Contest in April, receiving
more than 8,000 heartfelt nominations by zulily fans sharing how a
teacher in their life made an impact. Today, zulily spotlights the
appreciation of teachers everywhere by elevating 50 stories that
exemplify the personal sacrifices, fortitude and dedication to the
growth of their students, and is providing these winners with
$500 to outfit their classroom with
finds from zulily.com.
Of the 50 winners, six teachers were invited to curate sales
events catered to teachers, that feature classroom ready
merchandise in specialized categories, such as STEM, Art &
Creative Play, Foreign Language, Homeschool & Montessori,
Special Needs, and Teacher Supplies & Furniture. zulily salutes
educators everywhere and this week only is offering an additional
15% off items purchased from these six curated sales events, on top
of the up to 70% off customers already receive, for teachers to
shop for their classrooms and support their peers.
"Educators are a cornerstone of our community and great teachers
have encouraged and impacted everyone in meaningful ways, big and
small. What makes teachers unique is their passion and dedication
to go above and beyond, personally investing time and money to
better their students and their environments," said Darrell Cavens, CEO of zulily. "We wanted to
bring visibility to everything that teachers do and spotlight a few
stories that are emblematic of all teachers who have moved our
customers and employees. A heartfelt thank you, from all of us here
at zulily."
zulily recognizes and gives special thanks to the teachers who
inspired the curated collections: Randall
Dunkin, a science teacher from North Adams High School, in
Seaman, OH; Kellie Gaffney, a Spanish teacher at Lisha Kill
Middle School, in Albany, NY;
Sheryn Hodgson, a home school
teacher for Redding School of the Arts, in Redding, CA; Tatum
Allhiser, a teacher of all subjects, Stronghold Court
School, Canby, CA; Blaire Goodson, High School English,
Darlington High School, Darlington, SC Jessica Lara , 2nd Grade, WCSD
Bud Beasley Elementary, Sparks, NV
for going above and beyond to bring light and learning to their
classrooms and students of unique and diverse needs.
zulily shares a few stories that illustrate how teachers impact
everyone they touch:
Marina Collier, 2nd
Grade, Gilmore Elementary, League City,
TX. Marina has gone above and beyond for what she
considers her children in her home away from home. I have seen Mrs.
Collier literally give a little girl one of the shirts off her own
back when she was cold. She goes above and beyond to make each
student realize they have potential for all things and while they
may alone sometimes in this world they will always have her and her
love for years to come. She's not just a teacher, she is someone
people should strive to be more like. – Meagan Molina
Crystal Schroeder, Special
Education Work-Based Learning Coordinator for Hiawatha Valley
Education District, Winona,
MN. Crystal serves students within all disability areas,
including Emotional Behavioral Disorders, Specific Learning
Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and other such
disabilities. In rural Minnesota,
she travels to about 13 schools in the district to teach
emotionally challenged and autistic students job skills, find them
jobs, and works with employers to monitor their job skills and
performance. – Cynthia
Miller
Dawna Gatrost,
AVID/ELA/History, Canyon Lake Middle School, CA. Mrs. Gatrost
is a school mom to everyone, but especially the foster youth. As a
former foster parent, her trauma-based training is invaluable to
promptly recognizing the struggle typical students don't have to
deal with. Her tough love in AVID teaches the organization skills
children desperately need for success in life. She's a great
communicator with the parents and an important part of foster
children's "village" who raised them. She's the reason we don't shy
away from fostering middle school aged kiddos! She's hands down the
best teacher we've met, and I volunteer with foster children all
across southern California. – Valentina Rocnik
Jeffrey Gross, Special
Education, Edison High School,
Philadelphia, PA. Jeff's music
therapy program is the impossible in a Philadelphia class for multiple handicapped
students. With no budget, he has brought in music therapy
students to work in his class twice weekly and not surprisingly
there have been amazing results from the once silent
students. He has also found a way to bring in alpacas from
the surrounding area, definitely a first for his students! He
just keeps talking to people he meets and keeps looking for
resources to bring into school for his "kids." His calm
attitude is not the usual in the school but cannot be replaced. –
Jessica Levin
Iyana Tennon, Elementary, all
subjects, Virtuous Academy, Duquesne,
PA. Iyana runs a beautiful and thoughtful school for
kids who attend a really tough district. Many kids drop out
and the others that remain are often bullied and
underperforming. Iyana created Virtuous Academy to provide a
safe option for these kids, with a strong academic
curriculum. STEM is a large part of it, as she believes jobs
in the sciences are a way for these young people to break the cycle
of poverty in their families. – Gisele
Fetterman
Jennifer Sever, Special
Education, Marysville High School, Marysville, OH. Mrs. Sever has dedicated
her time to helping special needs children. She does everything in
her power to educate herself on how to help these kids live as fun
and as normal of a life so they can feel just as much appreciated
as all other children their age. She always speaks so highly of
them and consistently tries to find creative ways to make sure they
obtain a solid foundation for surviving in today's society. She is
truly a gem. She is authentic and she has a heart of gold. –
Meriele Moore
Karen Daley, 6th grade
teacher, Monarch School, CA. Karen is a fierce and unrelenting
advocate for the homeless students she serves. She is the most
loving, kind, dedicated educator I have seen in action. She
is tireless in her efforts to provide the students with a great
education and strives to meet their emotional needs as well. She is
committed to ensuring her students and all who meet her to become
good people by her amazing, consistent example. She not only
teaches character, grace, and gratitude; she lives and breathes it.
She constantly spends her money to provide anything her students
may need, without complaint. – Trisha
Norris
Kathy Marx, Senior
Communications, Appleton East High School, Appleton, WI. Mrs. Marx is so invested in
her students, she knows each and every student, their family
situation and what is going on in their life. She pays for
students' Senior pictures, Prom manicures and dresses. She
has students lined up every day to talk with her and help them with
their situations. She never tells them no and she is always
there for everyone. I don't know how she does it, but there
seems to be no end to her goodness. – Katie Davis
Laurel Robinson, Teacher of
Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Aurora
Public Schools, Aurora, CO.
She teaches deaf and hard of hearing teenagers. She inspires,
guides, counsels, informs, comforts and celebrates each and every
child like they were her own. Laurel is the most selfless teacher,
always helping her students in any way possible to help them be the
best person and to grow to their full potential. When my daughter
was in her class she came with no experience in sign language and
failing in all classes. She HATED school. After Miss Robinson took the time to teach her sign
and help her understand not only social skills but life skills, she
blossomed and became a straight A student. She learned to LOVE
school. – Molly Drumps
Lisa Gifford, Language arts,
Keller Primary School, Peoria,
IL. Lisa has been teaching for Peoria School District 150 in Peoria, IL. for the past seven years.
She mixes art, drama and reading to engage the students because she
truly believes all children can learn when given opportunities to
experience learning through their strongest ability, talent, and
interest. She gives 110% daily in all she does and especially
while teaching. Teachers everywhere give their all daily with
little recognition or appreciation and Lisa is no different; but I
feel she does an awesome job due to her ambitious desire to teach
every child to their highest ability level. – Eva Balek
To learn more about the 50 inspiring winners of zulily's Thank a
Teacher Contest and how they have impacted lives everywhere, visit
The Find. Throughout National Teacher Appreciation Week, zulily
will also be going LIVE on Facebook at 4:00
PM (PT) everyday to highlight some of the products featured
in each event, and share more inspiring stories and surprises.
Visit zulily.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
Pinterest for more #zulilyThankATeacher inspiration and news. From
zulily to teachers everywhere, view the brand's series of videos to
say 'thank you'.
1National Center for Education Statistics:
Projections of Education Statistics to 2017, Thirty-sixth
edition
2TIME Money: Here's How Much Your
Kid's Teacher Is Shelling Out for School Supplies
About zulily, llc
zulily (http://www.zulily.com) is a retailer obsessed with
bringing customers special finds at incredible prices every day.
zulily features an ever-changing, always delightful collection of
clothing, home décor, toys, gifts and more––for the whole family.
Unique products from up-and-coming brands are featured alongside
favorites from top brands, giving customers something new to
discover each morning. zulily was launched in 2010 and is
headquartered in Seattle with
offices in Ohio, Nevada and Pennsylvania. zulily has been a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Liberty Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: QVCA) since
October 2015.
CONTACT: zulily, llc
Andrea Conrad, 206.724-0500 x. 4805
(Media)
aconrad@zulily.com
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