‘Disneyland for teachers’: How a Fort Worth nonprofit gives away free classroom supplies

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On West Vickery Boulevard, a multi-colored building branded as “Fort Worth’s creative reuse headquarters” is difficult to ignore. If the red, yellow, orange and blues don’t catch the attention of a passing driver, then the line of educators waiting outside the front door might.

On Tuesday, the line outside The Welman Project was already growing 30 minutes before the nonprofit organization opened its doors at noon. Teachers were eager to start shopping at its famous warehouse, where books, arts and crafts, office supplies and more are available to them — at no cost. A notable resource for those who typically pay out of pocket or rely on Amazon Wish Lists to fill their classrooms, it’s drawn educators from across the country.

A caravan of teachers travel from California to Fort Worth every summer to shop at the warehouse, according to Community Engagement Coordinator Lauren Watson. Educators have also visited from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Nebraska and Alaska.

“It’s neat to see all those people from all those places, but it’s also very indicative of how necessary the need is for public educators… when it’s still worth your gas money to travel across the country to come get free stuff, that’s definitely signaling something,” Watson said. “I’m excited that we can be like a Disneyland for teachers.”

The Welman Project’s mission is two-fold: get teachers the supplies they need, and mitigate environmental waste while doing it. The warehouse consists of surplus materials from local companies who supply the donations on a daily basis, and Welman Project staff help educators find creative ways to reuse some materials that might otherwise be overlooked. For example, if a teacher is in need of handheld whiteboards but the warehouse is short on those, staff suggest repurposing their supply of DVD cases by flipping the movie posters around to create the white background, and then using dry erase markers on the plastic casing.

“They’re not limited to how much they leave with when they visit. And they’re also not limited to how often they can come visit, which is why I like to reiterate that we’re here all year,” Watson said, noting that the back-to-school season is the busiest time of year.

Aliscia Washington and Brandy Kelly, elementary school teachers in the Everman Independent School District, were shopping on Tuesday for items to put in their classrooms’ prize boxes in preparation for the first day of school on Aug. 12 . They also grabbed laptop bags that would be used to organize students’ books.

“We do so much. But we’re always spending money, so it’s nice to know that there’s a place to come where we can get the supplies that we need for the kids and not have to worry about, ‘Oh, do I have enough money to pay for this?’” Washington said. “It’s a safe haven for the teachers. It makes you feel appreciated that something like this is offered.”

The West Vickery Boulevard headquarters also has a “curiosity shop” that’s open to the public where discounted craft supplies, jewelry and vintage treasures are sold. All proceeds from the shop go toward the free educator warehouse, and every $1 spent in the shop translates to about $9 worth of free materials, Watson said.

There’s also a makerspace known as “Dad’s Garage” where teachers can receive free professional development classes, community members can take workshops and students can attend summer camps. It’s where Co-Founder and Creative Director Vanessa Barker spends most of her time.

“We’re trying to dispel the myth (that) creative reuse is just for pre-K art classrooms, and it’s toilet paper rolls, right? We really try to — in our messaging, in our examples, in our (professional development) — relate creative reuse to your high school biology class, to your eighth-grade math class. We hook them in with the free supplies, then we get them hooked on creative reuse and all the great benefits of that,” Barker said. “We throw spaghetti at them, figuratively, and it’s up to them to see what sticks and what works for their classroom.”

Barker started the nonprofit with Co-Founder and Executive Director Taylor Willis almost nine years ago, and they have operated out of the current brick-and-mortar location for almost four years. The Fort Worth natives attended preschool together at First United Methodist Church in downtown but didn’t realize they had been in the same class until years later when they reconnected in middle school.

They attribute their passion for the environment to their seventh-grade science teacher Mr. Sills, who taught in Fort Worth ISD. Barker and Willis were also members of his eco-club.

“As we got older, looking back, I’m like, “Oh, wow, we had that great teacher who taught us to care about the planet.’ We want to support teachers and make sure other kids have the same great experience that we did,” Willis said.

In the 2022-2023 school year, the Welman Project reached more than 4,600 educators, distributed $2.3 million worth of supplies and reused materials that would have otherwise filled 187 dumpsters, according to the nonprofit’s latest annual report.

Moving forward, Willis said additional space is needed for staff to sort through donations more efficiently. Barker noted how she would like to open a facility in Dallas to reach more educators.

“We really need more space to be able to store up stuff because there’s no shortage of stuff that people want to donate, appointments are booked out, it’s just a bottleneck of the limitations of our space and our staff and volunteers to be able to process everything. So we would love a bigger processing center,” Willis said.

Barker added that the nonprofit has a strong foundation that fulfills an ongoing need, and because of that, will continue to grow.

“It’s exciting to see that this idea has become something that belongs to the community, not us,” Barker said. “And it will, because of that, survive any hurdles, will survive succession plans, and I think that’s what should happen because teachers need help.”