Strangers are helping Iowa teachers prepare for school by clearing their Amazon wish lists

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) -Teachers are preparing to return to their classrooms and now strangers are helping them do it.

”I know that they always give a lot of their own salaries to their school rooms,” said Katie Patterson. Patterson founded the Des Moines Moms Facebook group which has nearly 17,000 members. It’s a huge platform that she’s using to make a difference by sharing Amazon wish lists from Iowa teachers.

So far more than 600 teachers have added their lists to the effort, and people they don’t even know are clearing them.

“There’s so many teachers across our whole great state that need all of the support and honestly a whole lot of people around the state that want to help,” said Patterson.

A middle school teacher at Prairie Point in Cedar Rapids has already felt the love.

”I’ve gotten a lot of stuff and it’s really fun because it just comes in the Amazon, like it just gets sent directly to my house. I don’t even know that it’s getting purchased so it’s kind of like a surprise every single day,” explained Haylie Franklin, an 8th grade science teacher.

Teachers can add themselves by filling out a form and linking their Amazon wish list. Then, anyone can access the lists to buy them classroom supplies.

Franklin’s not only received some essential items, but a sense of support.

“It’s really cool to know that there is that support for teachers because sometimes we don’t always feel that, but just kind of these wish lists gives us an opportunity to feel it in a different way,” she said.

Franklin only wishes she could send a thank-you to those anonymous shoppers.