TULSA, OK (KOKI/CNN) – An elementary school teacher in Oklahoma hopes to raise awareness about budget cuts by begging for classroom supply money on a street corner.
Teresa Danks has been an educator since 1996, and while it’s never been a financially rewarding profession, she says it’s been getting harder and harder lately.
The teacher makes around $35,000 per year. With education getting less and less money from the state, she says she’s now spending about $2,000 to $3,000 out of pocket for school supplies.
"I'm not alone. I mean, we are all doing it. I am just one voice of many,” Danks said.
On Tuesday, Danks spent her time on the corner of a Tulsa street panhandling for money.
"I mean, we are begging, and you know, we don't want to call it that. But this kind of shows that it is,” she said.
Danks says she decided to ask the public for help after learning lawmakers weren’t going to help her.
"Honestly, I just wanted to do something shocking,” she said.
The teacher’s actions made a statement, and car after car stopped to offer her money. Danks made $55 in six minutes, more than double what she makes per hour in the classroom.
"I was getting emotional. People were like, ‘Teachers like you are the reason I’m alive today,’” Danks said.
Danks says her atypical fundraiser was not just about her but about teachers all over the state and country who are suffering from budget cuts. She hopes others will join her in the effort and urges people to donate to their local schools.
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