It’s that time of the year again! Teachers are preparing their lesson plans, parents are stocking up on groceries to make brown bag lunches, students are excited to be back in the classroom, and Copart Eldridge is doing their part to help their local district get ready.

The Copart Cares Team at CrashedToys in Eldridge, Iowa is proud to have donated several school supplies to the Rock Island School District near their location.

Mary Teague, Customer Service Representative at the CrashedToys location, was inspired to start the effort by her husband’s participation in a local charity. “My husband bought a motorcycle about three years ago. It was through his riding that I came upon Bikers for Backpacks. It’s a nonprofit in the area that puts on a ride to collect school supplies for the Rock Island School District,” said Mary. “I wanted to help those kids too. Seeing how much Copart cares about the community, and participates in other events, I wanted to see if we could work together and provide local kids the best first day of school.”

The CrashedToys Eldridge team was more than happy to come together to help their fellow colleague support a cause she is passionate about. Mindy Mathews and Jane Vandersnick aided Mary during this time. Jane helped organize areas throughout the office where employees could drop off school supplies to be donated. Mary collected vending machine profits and employee donations to purchase school supplies.

In the end, Copart Eldridge was able to contribute over 400 items to the school, and these supplies will help over 1,800 students.

“I am proud to be in a position to be able to help the kids receive the supplies they need. Every kid should start the day and not have to worry about having the tools to learn,” said Mary.

Thanks for your amazing gift, Copart Eldridge. We’re happy to have the Copart Cares Team and employees who put forth an effort to give back. Well done!