Teacher & Staff Gift Bags 2026-2027 School Year (Thank You!!)

I want to thank every person who donated financially to the Teacher and Staff Gift Bags for the 2026-27 School Year for the Siuslaw and Mapleton School Districts. Additionally, I want to thank all who were able to assist on August 24 to assemble the 250 bags! We had a wonderful group of volunteers and what fun we had! I believe we had 23 total volunteers!

This year’s 28 Community Partners are:

Peace Health, Grocery Outlet, River Roasters, Safeway, Fred Meyer, Abby’s Legendary Pizza, Three Rivers Casino, Mo’s Seafood and Chowder, Florence Dental Clinic, Artefacts, City Lights Cinemas, Waterfront Depot, Chad E. Clement Dentistry, Nosh Eatery, Hunt Family Dentistry, Books ’n Bears, Stitch & Sole, Laurel Bay Gardens, Dairy Queen, A&W, Uncommon Collective, Timber & Flame, and Shippin’ Shack! New this year are: Happy Taco, Resto bar, Florence Masonic Lodge#107, USBank, and The Little Brown Hen!

Special thanks to Peggy Simington for delivering the Mapleton bags to the Mapleton School District. Kay Fitzgerald, who helped me with a computer issue and walked me back off the ledge and created the sticker for the bags. Additionally, thank you to Judy Jones and Nu Williams for dropping off flyers to solicit new Community Partners.

It makes my heart glad to think we can bring some small joy to our local teacher and staff educators with our gift bags! Please make sure you support and frequent the above Community Partners and thank them for their contribution!

“Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

With Gratitude, Kathryn Waterman Nurture Chair