Those teachers who discovered the Teachers Warehouse when we were BETA testing it in the Summer of 2008 had a much different ordering experience than you have today with the Teachers Warehouse. When the BETA version of the Teachers Warehouse launched, teachers were only able to order one item at a time. Today, you can place an order for all the available items in the catalog.

This suggestion gave us all at The Foundation an "ah ha" moment. Previously, you had to navigate through multiple pages to find the complete item description with quantity limits. Of course, this was cumbersome. The solution was simple. Now any time you click on an item picture or name, you are immediately taken to its full description that notes any quantity limits and allows you to add the maximum amount permitted to your shopping cart.

If someone doesn't have access to a computer at school, home or local library (or if it would just be easier), teachers are welcome to stop by The Foundation during ordering week to place their Teachers Warehouse order. Typically, the office is open 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. You may want to call in advance to make sure someone will be available to assist you. These items would then be available for pick-up during the Teachers Warehouse Pick-up Days.

To assist visitors with finding the multiple ways to navigate the catalog to find the items they want, we've added instructions to our Teachers Warehouse Frequently Asked Questions.

We've added the ability to request that your password be sent to your e-mail from the "My Account" page of the Teachers Warehouse. Simply click on the "My Account" link and then click the "Forgot your password? Click here" link. If you are having any difficulty, please call The Foundation at (405) 879-2007.

Since the Teachers Warehouse is powered by donations from businesses and individuals, we can only offer those supplies that have been donated. The exception to this was made possible by a generous donation from Chesapeake Energy Corporation. Chesapeake lets The Foundation place periodic supply orders (from Office Depot) for the Teachers Warehouse. Prior to placing this order, The Foundation sends a survey via e-mail to all teachers who have ordered from the Teachers Warehouse. The survey asks teachers to tell us which items are most important to them to be included in the Chesapeake order.

We want to provide supplies to as many teachers as possible. In order to do this, we limit the quantity you can order of some supplies. When determining quantity limits, we try to give you enough of the supply to last one month (some sharing among students may be necessary).

In this way, the Teachers Warehouse fills a critical need. We provide a source for free supplies so that teachers may have an emergency supply on hand (with sharing) to meet the need in the event that all their students arrive at school without the tools they need for successful learning that day. By providing the opportunity to order each month, teachers can replenish many of the consumables he or she and their students use without spending his or her own hard-earned money.

On occasion, we have enough supplies to provide full classroom sets for teachers and their students. That's why in the Spring of 2009, we introduced a new concept to the Teachers Warehouse — a "Blowout." A "Blowout" allows teachers to come to a specific location to pick-up as many of a specific item or items as they need for themselves and their schools. That is, until that specific item runs out. Prior to a "Blowout" we'll advertise the "Blowout" on this website and send an e-mail to all Teachers Warehouse customers.

The variety of supplies offered each month is determined in part by the variety of supplies donated. Your experience may vary depending on when you access the catalog each month. When the catalog opens on Monday morning, it includes all the free supplies that are available that month. Depending on the number of orders we receive early in the week, the number of items available later in the week can be significantly reduced and some supplies may no longer be available.

Since August 2009, we limit all Teachers Warehouse orders to 12 different items. For each of those 12 items, you can order the maximum quantity allowed. We want to distribute more orders with high-quality items. Prior to this policy, items were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. That resulted in a very few number of teachers receiving orders with large quantities of high-quality items and a disproportionate number of teachers receiving orders with only 1-2 items. We hope this new policy will help us to serve more teachers with a quality experience.

Since the free supplies available through the Teachers Warehouse are donated, we do not know if we will have the same items from month-to-month. Therefore, we cannot take back orders. And that is also the reason that once we are out of an item, it no longer appears on the catalog.

We realize that the limited number of some items makes it impossible for everyone to have a "fair chance" at ordering all supplies available. For items that we know every classroom needs, we limit the number each teacher can order so that those items are available to more teachers.

Since August 2009, we limit all Teachers Warehouse orders to 12 different items. For each of those 12 items, you can order the maximum quantity allowed. We want to distribute more orders with high-quality items. Prior to this policy, items were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. That resulted in a very few number of teachers receiving orders with large quantities of high-quality items and a disproportionate number of teachers receiving orders with only 1-2 items. We hope this new policy will help us to serve more teachers with a quality experience.

If you have additional suggestions, please let us know by completing a Teachers Warehouse evaluation or sending an e-mail to teacherswarehousek@okckids.com.

If an item is listed on the order form with a "0" quantity or "Out of Stock" that item or those items will not be included on your order. An item is not deducted from stock until the order is placed. Many times, we receive dozens of orders within seconds of each other. If your order is the last to be processed by the online catalog, you may be notified that that item is no longer available. This results in a "0" item quantity on your Order Confirmation. In the event an item is marked "Out of Stock," a human error may have occured during the initial inventory and we unfortunately ran out of the item before your order was filled.

It is an excellent practice to double check your bags before leaving The Foundation. To help our teachers, we pre-package all items before pick-up days and try to mark all the bags to make sure you get all your bags. Due to occasional human error, a bag may be missed by Foundation staff. In that case, we will make every effort to contact you to arrange alternative pick-up or drop-off.

Since the Teachers Warehouse officially launched in August 2008, we've received tremendous community support both from our donors and friends of The Foundation and Oklahoma City Public Schools. Not only has the Teachers Warehouse received tremendous support from businesses and individuals in the Oklahoma City metro area, we also receive contributions from businesses and individuals in other school districts. We will continue to work toward growing our donor and volunteer base. If you'd like to keep apprised of The Foundation's work, please subscribe to our free newsletter or periodically visit this website.

Teachers Warehouse Pick-up Days are the first Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the month. We keep the pick-up days the same each month to make it easier to remember. If, due to weather, schools are unexpectedly closed during a pick-up day, we would of course re-schedule that pick-up day and notify teachers as to the rescheduled day.

We understand that it may be difficult or impossible to pick-up your Teachers Warehouse order on some of the scheduled pick-up days. Especially if the scheduled pick-up days conflict with sporting, artistic or other special events at your school, or even a scheduled Parent-Teacher conference. If you are unable to find another teacher, friend or family member to pick-up your order, please call The Foundation at (405) 879-2007 to make alternative arrangements. We'll be glad to help.

The cost of delivering individual orders to teachers or schools is prohibitive. However, we encourage teachers and schools to coordinate their Teachers Warehouse pick-up. Many schools or groups of teachers send one or two representatives to pick-up all the orders.

We are aware that The Foundation's office on the second floor of an office building can make it difficult to pick-up your Teachers Warehouse order. To offset this difficulty, we have dollies available for teachers to borrow and there is a freight elevator. We also encourage teachers to carpool and help each other on pick-up days. Although The Foundation's offices present challenges on pick-up days, the space allows us to run the many other programs and initiatives that support the schools like Student InCENTives, Devon Great Idea Grants, Student Scholarships, the Jean G. Gumerson Endowment for the Pursuit of Teacher Excellence and the many other ways we connect the resources of the community to the schools.

At the present time, we do not have the staff resources to manage two order weeks each month. As staff and/or volunteer resources expand, we will revisit this request.