Atlanta Braves Foundation Most Valuable Teachers

Edit title

Thank you so much for your generous donations to our class project!

When the package arrived, the students were amazed and beyond excited to start using the 3Doodler pen set. The pens have truly become an inspiring way for students to visualize their thinking and celebrate their hard work.

The students are eager to learn how to best complete their projects, and your contribution is making learning more enjoyable and rewarding. We're so grateful for your support in helping our students succeed.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Hazeres

Adding five more Sphero Mini robots to our classroom has expanded learning in ways I couldn't have imagined. With more robots, more students are able to participate in coding challenges simultaneously, which means increased engagement, hands-on practice, and deeper learning across the board. Instead of taking turns, students can now work in smaller groups or even pairs, allowing for more meaningful collaboration and giving every student a voice in the coding process. This has especially benefited my quieter learners, who now have more opportunities to lead and experiment without feeling rushed.

The additional Spheros have also allowed us to scale up our STEM projects. We've been able to run larger group challenges, like designing obstacle courses and simulating real-world problems—turning our classroom into a mini robotics lab. Students are applying critical thinking and math concepts in real time, while learning perseverance, teamwork, and how to debug code. These new robots have truly elevated our curriculum, and watching my students light up as they problem-solve and code has been one of the most rewarding parts of teaching this year.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Lamb

Thank you so much for your incredible support and generosity in helping bring drones into our classroom. Because of you, our students now have the opportunity to engage with technology in ways that are hands-on, meaningful, and absolutely unforgettable.

Your donation is doing more than just providing drones—it's opening up a world of exploration, creativity, and learning. With these tools, my students can learn the principles of flight, engineering, and coding in a real-world context. Many of them have never had access to this kind of technology before, so I cannot wait to see their faces when our packages arrive.

This gift will go far beyond this school year. The skills they’re building now will follow them into high school, college, and beyond—preparing them for careers that haven’t even been invented yet. You are helping us plant seeds that will grow for years to come.

Thank you once again for your kindness, your belief in our mission, and your commitment to empowering the next generation of innovators or engineers:) I’m so grateful to have partners like you walking alongside us as we build a future where every student has the tools to dream big and reach higher. Go team!!!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Weatherspoon

Thank you so much for funding my project! I am beyond grateful and excited. Currently crying tears of joy. Our youth will enjoy all the gardening materials! I can’t wait to see what they do this summer. Thank you so much again for the support. Love always. Ms. Washington.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Washington

Thank you so much for helping to fund my project. My students will be so thrilled to hear the awesome news. Our school recently received STEM certification, and my students are usually thrilled and excited when I mention the word 'Science Project/Lab'. Having the products requested, will allow them to be even more creative, using critical thinking skills, participate in Project Based Learning (PBL), and overall build their confidence in that they too, despite their disabilities, can accomplish and succeed. I cannot wait to tell them, and to see their faces when they receive the products and take them out of the boxes. I know that they will be over the moon with excitement, and may even do their happy dance.”

With gratitude,

Dr. Loncke

I'm writing to share my heartfelt thanks and update you on the incredible impact your generosity has had on my kindergarten classroom through our Phonics in Focus project.

Thanks to your kind donations, our class received essential materials including laminating sheets, a pocket chart stand, magnetic letters, and a supply of paper — all of which have transformed the way my students engage with phonics and early literacy activities. These materials are more than just classroom supplies; they are the tools that bring learning to life for our young students.

With the laminating sheets, I was able to create durable, reusable phonics activities that my students use daily. From matching games to interactive worksheets, these materials are now sturdy enough to be handled repeatedly by eager little hands. It's allowed me to build a library of hands-on resources that can be used for years to come, making your contribution stretch even further.

The pocket chart stand has become a classroom favorite. It allows us to practice sorting words by sounds, building sentences, and matching letters — all while working together in a group setting. It's helped foster collaboration and made our phonics instruction much more interactive. My students love coming up to the chart and showing what they've learned. Watching their confidence grow as they manipulate letters and words right in front of their peers has been so inspiring.

The magnetic letters have opened up even more opportunities for hands-on learning. My students use them during center time to build words, practice spelling their names, and explore word families. They're engaging with letters in a physical, meaningful way that supports both their fine motor development and literacy skills.

And of course, the paper you helped provide has been instrumental in creating all sorts of learning materials — from letter tracing sheets and flashcards to storytelling prompts and phonics booklets. With these supplies, I've been able to tailor activities to each student's learning needs and give them the practice they need in a fun, creative format.

Thanks to you, my students are more engaged, more confident, and more excited about learning than ever before. Your support has helped me create a classroom environment where phonics instruction is not only effective but joyful. I've already seen significant growth in letter recognition, sound blending, and early reading skills among my students — and we're only partway through the school year!

Please know that your generosity is making a daily difference in the lives of young learners. On behalf of my students and myself, thank you again for believing in our project and investing in our future readers. You've truly helped lay the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Brown

I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your generous donation of art supplies. Your kindness and support mean so much to us and to the community we serve.

These supplies will provide wonderful creative opportunities for our patrons, especially children and aspiring artists who visit our library. Your contribution will help us foster imagination, artistic expression, and a love for creativity through our programs and activities.

We truly appreciate your generosity and commitment to supporting the arts and education. Thank you again for making a difference in our library and in the lives of those who will benefit from your thoughtful gift.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Wansley

Atlanta Braves,

From the bottom of my heart—thank you.

I’m still in awe that you, the Atlanta Braves, fully funded my Donors Choose project. I truly can’t express how incredibly meaningful this is to me—not only as a special educator, but as someone who recently left a job I loved with all my heart in Atlanta, Georgia. I made the move to Birmingham with a calling: to make a deeper impact and bring the heart of my work to a new community. And with your generous support, that mission just became so much more tangible.

Knowing that this gift came from the city and state that shaped me as a clinician and gave me the confidence to share my passion beyond Georgia—it’s emotional. It reminds me that even though I’ve moved, Atlanta is still cheering me on. That means the world.

Your support will directly help me create a joyful and engaging speech therapy space where kids can build not just their communication skills, but their confidence and self-worth. Many of my students haven’t had the opportunity to explore toys, games, or imaginative play—let alone be asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Because of you, I’ll be able to create an environment where their curiosity, creativity, and dreams are nurtured.

I hope to start hearing kids say things like, “When I grow up, I will be a professional baseball player,” and truly believe it—because someone believed in them first.

I feel so proud to represent the values and generosity of the Atlanta community here in Birmingham. Thank you for helping me build something beautiful for these kids.

- Hannah Higginbotham”

With gratitude,

Ms. Higginbotham