Throughout February WNED/WBFO is recognizing everyday citizens of Western New York who are doing amazing things in their communities. Our “Making a Difference” project emphasizes the importance of volunteerism and encourages others to lend a helping hand. Here is the story of a community champion who is “making a difference.”
John Mika inquires, “Is this your first time shopping?”
The teacher responds, “Yes.”
He asks, “Everything you expected?
Once again, the teacher responds, “More, yes, definitely more.”
John Mika is a former substitute teacher who now runs a store called “The Teacher’s Desk” which offers free school supplies to teachers. Mika set the store in motion after seeing first hand how much some students need help with the basics.
“True story, I once asked a third grade class at Waterfront School to pick up their pencils and pens and get ready for a writing assignment and only three kids had pencils out of a class of 26.”
“I knew there was a need there, and it just didn’t seem fair for the kids not to have school supplies, not to even have a chance. You know, they need a chance.”
The Teacher’s Desk helps 84,000 students with school supplies each year. Last school year, 3,700 teachers walked the stores aisles picking out pens, pencils, notebooks and much more.
Teacher Dawn Krol says, “We don’t really get a lot of supplies for our rooms and everything, so we teachers buy out of pocket for a lot of stuff because either the parents can’t do it, can’t afford it or we don’t have enough budget at the school.”
Teacher Stacie Cartone notes The Teacher's Desk supplies mean a great deal to students, “A lot of our kids, too, don’t have a lot at home. So when they can come into school and see these things, it gets them excited. So, I love it. This is awesome.”
Mika is always looking for two things, donations and volunteers. He says there are “a lot of volunteers putting stuff on the shelves…a lot of teachers taking stuff off the shelves. So, it’s a win-win.”
Teacher Kathy Sider says people can’t say no to Mika.
“John’s amazing… He has such a big heart. He has taught my students what being a great boss is all about, what volunteerism is, what it means to give back to the community.”
Mika’s efforts to stock classrooms across the area is clearly making a difference in the lives of children. The Teacher’s Desk distributes $2.6-million dollars in free school supplies to students across Western New York each year.
“I realize that people are looking for purpose and I am so fortunate to be in a position to provide it, to allow them together to build this thing called The Teacher’s Desk and help these kids.”
“For whatever reason, God has given me this opportunity to run The Teacher’s Desk… but without the volunteers and without the donors and without the teachers shopping it, without the students, I’m just waving a baton at the wind. There’s really nothing going on here if I’m here alone. So we really do need each other to allow these kind of things to happen.”
“It’s an honor to do what I do here. My main motivation is I know God smiles, and that’s enough for me.”
Listen to WBFO throughout February for more stories of people who are Making a Difference in Western New York. Screen the Making a Difference TV documentary video and audio stories at wned.org. You can also nominate someone for next year’s production of “Making a Difference.”
Visit wned.org/makingadifference to submit your nomination. The deadline is February 28th.
