Secaucus teacher receives shopping cart full of supplies, $500 gift card, from Walmart

A Secaucus special education teacher received a shopping cart full of supplies and a $500 gift card from Walmart earlier this month as part of their grand reopening of their flagship store at 400 Park Place.By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“I’m here because we have a nice little surprise for someone. I don’t know about y’all, but I love surprises. Do y’all love surprises? Do y’all want to surprise someone this morning?” Walmart Senior Manager of Community Relations Francisco Polanco asked on August 18th.

Eventually, he called Gillian Bonner, who teaches special education to grades 3-5 at the Huber Street Elementary School, to the podium.

“At Walmart, we are committed to empowering educators and enhancing the learning experience for students. With school right around the corner, your friends at Walmart want to make sure you have a fun and successful school year,” another Walmart representative said.

Bonner then received the shopping car full of school supplies, which included notebooks, markers, and “fun lighting” for the classroom, as well as a $500 gift card.

According to a recent survey from the Association of American Educators (AAEE), most public school teachers will spend about $673 of their own money for classroom supplies.

On the same day, Walmart also donated to several Secaucus entities, contributing $5,000 to their youth alliance, $2,000 to their Policemen’s Benevolent Association,$2,000 to the Meadowlands YMCA, and finally $2,000 to the Secaucus Fire Department.