Courtesy of WCTV:

By: Emma Wheeler | WCTV Eyewitness News 

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV) — Teachers help our kids succeed in the classroom, now Second Harvest of South Georgia is helping them succeed.

This week kicked off Teacher’s Harvest with teachers from all across South Georgia invited to get the supplies they need for the upcoming year.

Second Harvest said many of the families that rely on them for food throughout the year, also struggle with buying school supplies, and many times those items come from their teachers.

Kelly Merritt has been a teacher for more than 20 years and said these supplies play a direct role in students’ success, so when many kids walk in the door, spending that money out of their own pockets is just a sacrifice they need to make.

“Well they use them everyday, and a lot of the tools have to go home with them. So if they don’t have them at home they don’t bring them to school, Merritt said. “You can’t let a kid go without. They have to have their supplies to complete their homework, to study, to be prepared for every day.”

Teacher’s Harvest is now in its fifth year with millions of dollars worth of supplies donated.

The program continues Monday and Tuesday of next week. The organization expects to help more than 2,500 teachers across South Georgia.

For more information, visit http://feedingsga.org/th/