Orange public school teacher receives $1.6K grant for classroom supplies

ORANGE, NJ — As part of the annual Limeades for Learning Fall Voting Campaign, SONIC Drive-In, in partnership with education nonprofit DonorsChoose, donated $1 million to public school teacher projects that received the most votes from fans across the country. During a span of four weeks, supporters voted for their favorite projects to help SONIC determine which would receive a portion of the brand’s weekly funding for learning materials.

In Orange, Deborah Muller at Heywood Avenue Elementary School was selected to receive a total donation of $1,617.40 for classroom supplies for three projects:

• “Photo Printers Make School Events Last Forever.” Muller said, “As school is returning to our new normal after being out of the building for 18 months, school events will start to return as well. School events are so much more fun when we have cameras to document these events and print pictures with our friends who we are just starting to see again. By giving my students this photo printer, you will help them make memories that will last a lifetime. By giving my students a photo printer that is easy to use, they will be learning life skills and things about printing that may help them in the future. School today is so academic focused that this will allow students to use their creativity and develop memories of a lifetime.”
• “Good Work and Math = Skee Ball and Exercise.” Muller said, “By giving my students a skee ball arcade machine, you are giving them equipment so that they can get physical activity while in school. Research shows that students need exercise to ‘improve concentration, memory and classroom behavior.’ … Students have been cooped up for over a year, learning on computers and sitting down without having opportunities to get up and move. My students need motivation and more ways to get them to get up and to get moving, and this is a great way to help them do that.”
• “Cotton Candy Makes School and Schoolwork Sweeter.” Muller said, “When we think of cotton candy, it conjures thoughts of happy times and sweet memories, such as going to carnivals, parties and the circus. Most of my students have been in remote learning since March of 2020, and are finally coming back! Some of my students are excited as anything to come back, and some are a little apprehensive. As an inclusion teacher who works with both special education and regular education students, my job is to make students want to learn and do well even when they are feeling discouraged in the learning process. By giving my students a cotton candy machine and supplies, you are giving my students something amazing that will motivate them as they are getting back to learning in a traditional school environment.”

Since launching the Limeades for Learning initiative in 2009, SONIC has donated more than $20 million and supported more than 35,000 classrooms, providing funding for necessary learning materials requested by teachers in partnership with DonorsChoose.

“Sonic has been a longtime supporter of education. For more than a decade, we have been committed to helping teachers gain access to essential learning materials,” said Lori Abou Habib, chief marketing officer of SONIC Drive-In. “Through this year’s Limeades for Learning Fall Voting campaign, we’ve made a meaningful impact for 846 teachers, all thanks to our fans, who voted for innovative projects in their community to strengthen learning environments.”

From Sept. 27 through Oct. 24, SONIC fans voted on limeadesforlearning.com to determine which projects received funding, totaling $1 million.

“Through their Fall Voting Campaign, SONIC Drive-In has provided essential supplies that will help hundreds of students flourish and empower their teachers during this unpredictable school year,” said Charles Best, CEO and founder of DonorsChoose. “We’re celebrating SONIC’s milestone of donating $20 million over the past 13 years through DonorsChoose. Because of their ongoing partnership, classroom visions have come true for teachers in every state in our nation.”

  Grants, Heywood Avenue School