Emily Slain

WARSAW — Emily Slain is a teacher who works at Barbee Landing in the summer. When Slain’s manager heard many of her teaching expenses were out of pocket, the manager decided she wanted to help Slain.

“She instigated the whole thing. She said, ‘Let’s do a fundraiser,'” said Slain. When word got to the community about the event, people began to help out. “We’ve had so much support” said Slain. People have donated items for the raffle and even designed one of the posters for this event.

The Brews for Books event will include an all-you-can-drink for $20 at Barbee Landing on July 2 at 5 p.m to July 3 at 3 a.m. They will have a wide selection of beers to choose from. This event will also include a 50/50 raffle, auction and gift certificates from local businesses.

Slain is going into her fourth year of teaching. This year, she will be teaching sixth grade in the Union School District, Muncie. This will be her first time teaching sixth grade. One challenge this year is to be able to purchase new curriculums and books. She will also need to purchase school supplies, winter gear and other items for her students.

Slain anticipates having 17 kids in her classroom this year. In previous years, Slain has had to spend money out of pocket to purchase school supplies and even winter clothing for students. She also plans to provide alternative seating, such as yoga mats or exercise balls for kids with ADHD to sit on. The majority of students are on free or reduced lunches Slain says. Last year, when she taught in the fifth grade at the same school, often children would say that the reason they did not have winter coats or gloves was because their families couldn’t afford it.

The Barbee Landing will be collecting school supplies donation for Slain’s class up until Sept. 1. Anyone can come to drop off notebooks, pencils, glue and other school supplies for Slain’s class. All of the proceeds from the Brews for Books event will go directly to Slain’s classroom.