I met some pretty happy teachers yesterday afternoon.

They were at the American Legion Post on Legion Road, stocking up on school supplies from Staples withDanae Whitaker and Shauna Ferguson of McDougle Middle School. vouchers that entitled them to $75 worth of materials -- pens, clipboards, blank CDs and DVDs, folders, staplers -- for their classroom.

The three-day event (teachers can still shop today and tomorrow) is funded by the Staples Foundation and the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club along with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation. The vouchers were given to sixth through 12th grade teachers in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System. The program was started in January 2008; pre-kindergarten through fifth grade teachers have previously gotten the chance to shop. Each time the store opens, about 95% of eligible teachers participate, for understandable reasons.

"It's estimated teachers spend about $500 out of their own pockets for classroom supplies per year," said Kim Hoke of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation. According to Hoke, the Staples Foundation provided a $10,000 grant to fund the store, and the Staples on East Franklin Street offered supplies at a discounted rate. Teachers were surveyed ahead of time about what supplies they needed most.

"This is awesome," said Lisa Clarke, a science teacher at Phillips Middle School. "With budget crunches, personally and professionally, to have $75 that's not coming out of my pocket ... it just makes you feel appreciated."