FORT WORTH, Texas — Meander along West Vickery Boulevard in Fort Worth, and you’ll find a brightly-colored brick building that attracts teachers from several states.
On Tuesday, a line formed outside The Welman Project before its doors opened at noon.
The nonprofit organization provides recycled and donated school supplies to educators across Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond.
Teachers were eager to walk in and gather supplies for their classrooms ahead of the upcoming school year. The famous warehouse, which contains arts and crafts, books, teaching materials and other classroom equipment provides all materials to teachers at no cost.
There are no limits to the number of times a teacher can visit and no limit on the amount of supplies they can take.
The warehouse contains surplus materials from local companies who supply the donations on a daily basis along with donated items from the community.
Wanda Monroe, a White Settlement ISD teacher lined up before doors opened. She has shopped at the store for eight years.
“Just to gather things for our classrooms, cause we spend so much money just getting the things we need to set up,” Monroe said. “The kids love the stuff I take back because they get to just have all this stuff to create with.”
Vanessa Barker, the nonprofit’s Co-Founder and Creative Director started the nonprofit out of a desire to reduce wasted materials.
Barker said she realized the amount of material that goes to waste when she worked for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York. Barker began gathering unused materials after New York Fashion Week and distributing them to school teachers.
From there, the Welman Project came to fruition. First, in Barker’s living room and vehicle, and now, the operation has grown to a warehouse and thrift shop for the public.
“When a teacher walks in here, we want it to feel like their second home,” Barker said. “We know how hard it is to be a teacher out there, and so even if they’re just picking up a couple of pencils, we still want them to feel better than when they got here.”
Andrew Hughes, The Welman Project’s Data and Development Manager said the demand for assistance with school supplies is greater than ever as more districts continue to make budget cuts.
“The reason we exist is because there isn't that support and that is kind of sad,” Hughes said.
Hughes said the number of teachers that have frequented the nonprofit this year has increased 30% from three years ago. Last summer was the nonprofit’s busiest ever and this year, the organization is on track to surpass it by 10-15%, Hughes said.
Since the end of May 2024, the nonprofit has given away more than $750,000 worth of supplies. Several years ago, The Welman Project drew 3,300 teachers per year. Now, 7,000 teachers are visiting per year.
“It’s a testament to how much teachers need that support,” Barker said.
That void is filled as dedicated teachers browse shelves for hours, filling their shopping carts with everything they’ll need for their students.
Hughes said teachers have traveled to the Welman Project from Kansas, Oklahoma, California and Arkansas to stock up on supplies.
“For some people, it does make financial sense to come all of this way to get free supplies,” Hughes said. “We have people who walk out of here with $3,000 to $4,000 worth of school supplies. Some people take everything that they're going to need for an entire classroom for an entire year.”
Beyond providing bins upon bins of materials to shop from, the “Welies” are hoping to give so much more. Sometimes, teachers come in for a couple of pencils. They leave with warm smiles, hugs, and words of encouragement from the staff they’ve come to know as friends.
“We know how hard it is to be a teacher,” Barker said. “We want them to feel better than when they got here. When we make a difference for one teacher, it makes it all worth it and gives us the fire to get up and do it again and again and continue to fight for our educators.”