Thanks To All The Dedicated Teachers Across America!

At Carrot-Top Industries, we have had the pleasure of providing American-made U.S. flags and patriotic, special event, and custom-made products to schools across the country since 1980. Whether we provide customer service to an elementary school, high school, or college, we know students would not be able to succeed without the hard work and tireless dedication of their teachers. One of our top priorities is to support teachers and students across America through our ongoing educational support projects.

In recent months, we have assisted six Chapel Hill-Carrboro students and their two teachers in raising funds for their NC to Normandy trip. While the Smith Middle School students learn about WWII in history class and how to conjugate verbs in French class, their enthusiasm builds as they prepare to escort two WWII vets to Normandy June 3-10, 2019. The students and teachers will attend the 75^th D-Day Commemoration Services in France with WWII Army Medic George Chall and Lt. Col. Jacques Michienzi, who are returning to the lands they liberated. Although the students and teachers are doing the hard work, they were always appreciative of our help. "[Carrot-Top Industries] support[s] their local communities and educators... thank you to this awesome company,” said French teacher Robin McMahon.

In 2018, Carrot-Top Industries launched the Beacon^® Scholarship as a way to recognize and support industrious rural students across the U.S. The scholarship is a biannual award, with two $1,000 scholarships offered each fall and one $1,000 scholarship offered each spring. As part of the scholarship submission process, we require that all applicants submit an essay explaining “What does patriotism mean to you?” We realize that without the hard work of teachers throughout rural America, these students wouldn’t have the skills to pursue a higher education or the motivation to follow their dreams. The Beacon^® Scholarship is just one way Carrot-Top Industries gives a helping hand to the students whose teachers diligently prepared them for the next step in their educational journey.

Currently, Carrot-Top Industries is working on a new project to support U.S. schools and teachers. We realize how difficult it can be for teachers to provide students with the best educational experience due to budget constraints. Frequently, teachers use their own money to buy supplies for their

classroom. We want to help take some of the burden off of the teachers’ shoulders, so we created Educational Resources teachers and schools can access through our website. These resources can be printed out as student handouts or enlarged to decorate the classroom to use as an additional learning tool. We currently have a variety of resource pages created covering Flag Etiquette, North Carolina state facts, and Virginia state facts. We plan to continue adding resource pages until we have covered all 50 states of the U.S.A.

This year, Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6-10, 2019. During this week, we encourage you to think about the teachers who made an impact on you and how your life might have turned out differently without their influence. Take time out of your busy schedule to send your favorite teacher a note of thanks for all they do or visit your old school to say thank you in person. In a time when teachers are underpaid and overworked, being recognized and appreciated by former and current students helps them remember why they wanted to become a teacher. To help our students learn and grow into well-rounded adults is the most important job of all.