SBT & SEI have received over a dozen thank you notes from teachers and students who were recipients of this year's "Back to School" community outreach program. Employees from the two companies received $100 Lakeshore Learning Store gift cards to bring to their children's teachers at the beginning of the school year.

Teachers responded with appreciation by sending emails, hand-written notes, and thank you cards written by students. Mrs. Schuster from Belcher Elementary School said, "No words can express my gratitude to SBT for the Lakeshore gift card for my classroom! I have been in Early Childhood Education for 40 years and have never felt the support that this program provides! Your employees should feel proud to work for a company that supports their child's teacher!" Teachers purchased materials like learning games and instructional tools for their classrooms. Ms. Gums, 4th grade teacher at Forest Lakes Elementary, explained, "It is very nice to be recognized by members of the community. This gift means a great deal to me as a teacher. It shows that you value what teachers do every day. I will use this gift card to purchase learning materials that I will use directly with the students in my class this year."

SBT and SEI have community partnerships with the public schools in close proximity to the factories. The companies donate supplies and money to support the local schools. Many of the teachers that benefited from the Lakeshore gift cards work at schools that are part of the community partnerships. Mrs. Bruce, a 5th grade teacher at  Skycrest Elementary School, has two students in her classroom whose parents work at SBT. After a great summer in the marine industry, SBT and SEI are happy to support teachers and students going back to school!

SBT and SEI launched two new community outreach programs this year to support teachers, public schools, and company employees. The focus of the programs was to generate more school supplies, that is often lacking in public schools, and to take financial stress off of teachers who end up compensating for the shortage of materials. The first program was a large school supplies distribution. School supplies shopping can be a stressful and expensive activity for many families each year as students are preparing to go back to school. SBT and SEI assembled school supplies bags, specific to each grade level, for every company employee with a child. Employees brought the school supplies bags to their children's teachers on the first day of school. Jeremy Cashman, Manager of 4X Pro, said, "I love working for a company that invests back in their employees and the community. My wife and I are very excited about the school supplies. It is something we have dreaded shopping for each year."

​The second program was designed to alleviate teachers' wallets. Teachers often end up spending personal money for classroom set up. SBT and SEI employees were given $100 Lakeshore Learning Store gift cards to bring to their children's teachers at the beginning of school. Sixty-three gift cards were distributed to local elementary school teachers to buy classroom supplies and learning materials for students. After reviewing the companies' new outreach programs, Greg Pickren, company owner said, "We hope that our local students start the school year prepared to learn and ready to work hard in school. It's our hope that SBT & SEI can continue programs like this that value education and recoginze its large impact on our community."