Midland Education Foundation's Teacher Winter Wishes Spectacular returned for the third time Monday and Tuesday, giving more than 1,000 local teachers and support staff classroom supplies, gift cards and more.
"This is our third annual Winter Wishes Spectacular," said Anita Gamertsfelder, director of the Midland Education Foundation. "We have 1,300 teachers that are coming to our store today to get all the supplies that they may need such as office supplies, student supplies, teacher supplies."
The Winter Wishes Spectacular is free for teachers from around Midland County, not just Midland ISD.
As teachers walked into the spectacular, they receive a bag and made their way around the ballroom to receive supplies such as pens, pencils, paper, construction paper, highlighters and anything else.
Gamertsfelder said foundation sent out a survey to teachers to ask them what their top two items are that they need in their classroom so that they would know what supplies and prizes they needed to provide for the Winter Wishes Spectacular.
"We host this event to help teachers do the incredible job of educating students every day," Gamertsfelder said. "We also want to bless our teachers so we have 21 big door prizes that they can register to win."
Door prizes included a new office chair, a desktop printer, a Keurig coffee maker, a standing rolling desk and an Amazon gift card.
"They'll register for the prizes, and we'll draw for them and then hand deliver them to the winners' classroom on Wednesday," Gamertsfelder said.
She added that the event is teacher driven and community focused because of their volunteers.
"One hundred percent of the donations that come into this go out to the teachers," Gamertsfelder said. "We have volunteers from local companies and faith partners that are helping us greet teachers, hand out supplies, registering them for door prizes and thanking them for being a teacher."
The event also allowed teachers to play games on their main stage to win prizes ranging from a $25 gift card to an electric sharpener.
"When teachers leave, sometimes they are also handed another gift card and are thanked again for being a teacher," Gamertsfelder said. "They also have the opportunity to drop their name badge in two different tubs to win either a $500 Southwest Airlines ticket or two $250 H-E-B gift cards."
The event had 1,300 teachers registered to attend, which met the capacity of supplies they could give out. Teachers who were unable to register were also able to join a waiting list for a chance to get in if somebody didn't show up.
Mary and Vidal Torres, both teachers at Bonham Elementary, said Winter Wishes is a blessing.
"This event is amazing because the supplies come in handy," Mary Torres said. "It helps a lot, especially when we have new students come into the classroom."
Vidal Torres added that one of the most useful supplies they received was a Post-it easel pad.
"All the supplies are very helpful, but especially the easel pads," Vidal Torres said. "We use them a lot in the classroom nowadays, and they can be pricey out of pocket."
The couple said they are grateful for the Winter Wishes and look forward to registering for the event each year.
"At this point of the year, we're starting to run low on supplies," Mary Torres said. "This is perfect to help us have the items that we need going into the next semester. We're truly thankful that the Education Foundation does this for the teachers."
As for the supplies themselves, everything must go.
"We're sending everything out," Gamertsfelder said. "Sometimes it pays to come the first day, but it can also pay to come the second day because you might be handed some extra stuff. I'm confident that we're going to give away every single pencil and piece of paper that we have available."
The Winter Wishes Spectacular was sponsored by Diamondback Energy, First Baptist Church, Stonegate Fellowship, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Atmos Energy, Henry Petroleum, Mid-Cities and H-E-B.