LIHU‘E — According to the state Department of Education school calendar, teachers report to classes starting Aug. 1.
Kumu’s Cupboard, an educators’ resource center in the Kukui Marketplace near the Target store, will be opening special hours until Aug. 4 to accommodate teachers’ needs to prepare their classrooms for the first day for students that according to the DOE calendar is Aug. 7.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Kumu’s Cupboard will be available for educators’ shopping from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
On July 31, teachers are able to shop from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
On Aug. 1, and Aug. 3, Kumu’s Cupboard will be available from 3 to 6:30 p.m.
Starting Aug. 4, Kumu’s Cupboard resumes its regular store hours that are from 3 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday. Saturday hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday hours are from 1 to 4 p.m.
“We served a record 420 educators during the last school year. We’re continuing to offer special mini grants in addition to our regular stock of material for classroom needs,” said Elyse Litvack, the president and a co-founder of Kumu’s Cupboard.
“Educators were able to apply for class sets of clipboards or white boards for this school year. We’ll be offering another general mini grant in the fall. We also have the backpacks filled with basic supplies that educators can pick up if they have students without supplies.”
Educators shopping at Kumu’s Cupboard have no expense when looking for supplies associated with their jobs. Support for the work being done by Kumu’s Cupboard comes from donations and contributions from the public, including individual residents and businesses.
Kumu’s Cupboard is also holding an online auction through Malama Auctions that should go live Friday and run through Aug. 6. Items from the auction can be picked up at Kumu’s Cupboard on Aug. 7.
The link for the auction can be found on the Kumu’s Cupboard website at www.kumuscupboard.org and its social media pages starting Friday.
Kumu’s Cupboard is described as “the free school supply store for Kaua‘i’s educators,” providing free school supplies and other items teachers and DOE educational staff would otherwise have to pay for out of their own pockets.
w Info: 808-212-9450
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
