Every year, schools stock up on supplies. Many of those supplies include disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, gloves and even masks from the nurses office.
Ame Keefer, a 6th grade teacher at Foundations Charter Academy in Brighton, came up with an idea while hunkered down in her home during the stay-at-home order.
"I was thinking about all of these materials that we buy at the beginning of the year at the schools," she explained. "Now it’s just sitting dormant. There are so many schools out of session right now and who knows if we’re going back. This country really needs those supplies."
Keefer brought the idea to Principle Kay Collins.
"I thought it was so great," said Collins. "I had never thought about it myself."
With the school being closed, Collins was the only one who could enter the school. That's exactly what she did.
"I went in and went into every classroom," she explained. " I loaded up carts with disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer out of classrooms. I was able to box up six large boxes of supplies."
Collins delivered the supplies to Brighton police and fire to be dispersed to first responders. Enough supplies were left inside Foundations Academy just in case it was allowed to reopen before the end of the school year.
"I figured it was a great opportunity to pay it forward and get those supplies in the right hands," said Keefer.
Other districts have done something similar. Denver Public Schools was able to donate cleaning supplies to the city for homeless shelters.
Mesa County School District 51 donated all unopened boxes of gloves for local hospitals. The glove count ended up being more than 50,000.
