Red Wing takes Teacher Appreciation Week to next level

(FOX 9) - A group of parents in Red Wing has found a way to feed more than 437 teachers all week long as a way of thanking them. 

To do it, they spent over a month gathering generous donations from 45 businesses in the community.

"We want the teachers to feel that Red Wing as a whole is putting their arms around the teachers and saying ‘thank you'," volunteer Carrie Riester told FOX 9.

Carrie Riester, Megan Ramaker, Mandy Mahn and Rachel McWithey are the parents who made it happen and their work has taken Red Wing’s teacher appreciation week to a new level.

"We take [teachers] so much for granted and this was the littlest thing we can do," Ramaker said.

Because of COVID-19, the parents have been unable to volunteer in the schools, so the group started searching for another way to pay back teachers who endured so many challenges during the worst of the pandemic.

They set out to raise $3,000 for the teachers, but ended up surpassing that amount, "$25,000 is amazing - this community is amazing," Ramaker said.

Now, day by day, the money will go towards thanking teachers with breakfast, lunch, prizes, and gift cards - all thanks to these businesses:

It’s safe to say, the teachers are appreciating the gesture.

"They were tearing up," Jen Olson of St. James Hotel said. The hotel donated thousands of dollars.

"They felt very invisible that people didn’t realize what they’ve been going through and how much this meant to them," Olson finished.