Employees of Barrick’s Turquoise Ridge Mine dug into their pockets to help Humboldt County School District students.
A group of Turquoise Ridge employees delivered boxes of donated school supplies to the Humboldt County School District (HCSD) administration building on Aug. 22.
Turquoise Ridge employees gathered the supplies Aug. 1-18, according to Nancy Flowers, HR Superintendent. While employees bought supplies for their students, they also purchased supplies to donate. Some employees donated money, which, in turn, bought more supplies.
This was the first school supply donation drive Turquoise Ridge has undertaken. “I’m really proud of the employees,” Flowers said. “Hopefully every year we can improve on it.”
HCSD Superintendent David Jensen was on hand to receive the generous donation.
“Barrick has been a tremendous partner with Humboldt County School District in a variety of ways,” Jensen said. “This is just one example of the support that we get from Barrick. We really appreciate all that they do.”
The supplies will be distributed to students in the district based on need.
“We recognize that not all of our students are able to buy materials for class,” Jensen added. “We want to make sure everyone is on a level playing field and has the same opportunities.”
Flowers said after the donation project started, she saw a segment on the news about a teacher “basically panhandling for money” to buy school supplies for her classroom. “And I thought, wow, that’s so sad that teachers have to dig in their own pockets to get the supplies for the kids.”
According to a survey conducted by Communities in Schools, 90 percent of teachers surveyed personally purchased school supplies for their low-income students. Access to basic supplies can make or break a student’s academic success.
Thanks to Turquoise Ridge employees, HCSD teachers and students won’t have to worry as much about school supplies this year.
