Teacher surprised with 10-millionth pencil

APOPKA, Fla. – A Lakeville Elementary School teacher was surprised  with the 10-millionth pencil handed out by a A Gift For Teaching, a free school supply distributor in Central Florida.

The Pencil Boy mobile unit rolled up to the campus filled with notebooks, rulers, clothing items, and pencils Monday morning. Dozens of teachers were invited to take supplies, for free, as a part of the program.

The real surprise came when Mrs. Carly Kaye, a kindergarten teacher at Lakeville, walked around the corner to a round of applause and a basket of gifts for her classroom.

A Gift for Teaching has served more than 338 public schools, in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties since 1998. Jane Thompson, the president of A Gift for Teaching said they have been keeping track of the donation milestones, and knew this day was coming.

"You think about 10 million pencils and 10 million little hands and what that has meant for our Central Florida community," said Thompson.

The recipient, Mrs. Kaye, said she was surprised at the award, but not at the need for pencils.

"To have extra pencils it's something we always go through, it's something we always need from the beginning of the day to the end of the day they're always using pencils so it's a great thing to have, extra pencils in the classroom," said Kaye.