BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. – There is a grant teachers can apply for. The grant from Blue Eagle Credit Union helps teachers pay for new and innovative programs for students.
One of the past grant winners is a teacher from Read Mountain Middle School in Botetourt County. She wanted to build a free little library that allows students to take a book and return books.
"I was thrilled, it was great and so are my kids! They knew about it, so the kids voted on the design, we collected books as a community," said Catey Moretz, Read Mountain Middle School teacher.
"We want everyone to be creative, come up with a great project. We know schools have limited funds when it comes to the special projects so we want to be there to lift the burden off the teachers," said Andrew Alegre, with Blue Eagle Credit Union.
Teachers can get up to $500 a year. That's how much teachers spend of their own money on average, according to the credit union.
This is the third round of grants paid for by employees of Blue Eagle Credit Union. Applications are due by Friday, October 19.
The credit union also rewards kids for their grades, getting paid for A's and B's. They gave out $4,000 this year.
For more on both programs, including the application for teacher grants visit this website.