Credit Union of America (CUA) has awarded $36,890 in Teach, Grow, Inspire the Future (TGIF) classroom grants to 42 teachers across Kansas.

The program originated in 2000 and $386,323 has been directed to classrooms since its inception. After seeing CUA members take out small loans to make ends meet in their classrooms year after year, CUA originally decided to offer up to $500 grants for basic supplies and for innovative teaching methods that limited school budgets could not provide. The maximum grant was raised to $1,000 in 2023 to assist with rising costs and school budgets.

Recipients must be a member of CUA and submit an application that details their project. A blind review of the applications is held by a team of CUA staff and retired school personnel. Additional details are available on individual projects by request. We wish our spring 2023 TGIF recipients’ and their students fun and exciting experiences as they implement their educational projects. 

Local teacher recipients are Janae Donham, Jefferson Elementary School, $980 for the Kagan Teambuilding Classroom; and Shantel Fairchild, Fort Larned Elementary School, Larned, $600 for the Let’s Get Reading program.