Teacher raises $100K for neediest students, then heads straight to Costco to spend all on groceries
The job of a teacher is not only limited to educating students but also guiding them to take the right path. To ensure that, some teachers go above and beyond to provide students with everything they require to progress in their lives. A teacher from Durham, North Carolina, decided to provide food rations to underprivileged students from the Durham Public Schools during a holiday break, per CBS 17. Turquoise LeJeune Parker sought help from the community in the form of donations and accumulated more than $100,000 to buy groceries from Costco.
Then she handed over the groceries to the students who were in dire need of them. Parker organized the food distribution event in December 2021 at a gym in Lakewood Elementary. She organized paper bags filled with bread, mac and cheese, beans and other groceries that were distributed to the students. Parker was joined by T. Greg Doucette, an attorney in Durham, who first helped her collect funds to purchase the food items back in 2015. The of feeding students had come to Parker's mind when one parent approached her, seeking help. “This all started with one family, one family sent me a message in 2015,” Parker recalled to the outlet. “This mom said we don’t have anything at all. I don’t have anything for my kids.”
Parker and her husband Donald texted everyone they knew in the community and asked them if they could donate to provide food for 25 students in Parker's class. The couple managed to buy and distribute enough food to help the impoverished families of the students last through the holiday break. The following year, Parker and Donald decided to raise funds for buying food once again and were able to feed even more children in need. “We were able to feed the whole grade level, then two grade levels, then the whole school, and then three schools and it kept growing,” Parker shared.
In 2021, Parker raised over $100,000 amount which was more than enough to feed all the students in 12 schools in their district. Parker also disclosed to the outlet that her students fondly call her "professor" and she adores them like her own kids. “That’s how I see every one of my professors, I can’t sleep, unless I know they’re okay,” Parker said. “We owe this to everyone who is suffering from systemic oppression. Our folks are struggling to provide the very basic need, food and water and a place to live, that’s ridiculous.” The school teacher also revealed that most of the students in these schools are on "free or reduced lunches" and most of them are children of color.
"Amazing, speechless. It leaves me speechless," Parker admitted while talking to ABC7 Eyewitness News. "I've cried a little bit today. I cry a little bit every day. Two weeks is a long time to be out of school without lunch or breakfast at school. Three meals. Children eat a lot. Food is expensive." The news outlet also noted that food insecurity had become a major concern in Durham and the area is inhabited by low-income families who are mostly people of color.