Wow! this is incredible. Sixty local elementary school teachers got a big surprise Tuesday evening when Panthers owner David Tepper gifted Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools a $120,000 mid-year boost.

The donation, in partnership with the David A. Tepper Charitable Foundation, John M. Belk Endowment and Carolina Panthers Charities through Classroom Central, will provide new school supplies to help outfit 800 elementary classrooms in 17 Title I schools across the county. The 17 recipients were deemed by CMS to be high poverty schools focused on helping students who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind.

The announcement came at the conclusion of an event at Bank of America Stadium where the teachers were given a tour of the team’s facilities and received a pep talk from offensive lineman taylor Morton, whose mother has worked in education for his entire life

“If it wasn’t for her, if it wasn’t for amazing teachers like yourselves making sure I stayed on track, did the right things,” Moton told the teachers, “I don’t think I’d be where I’m at today. I hope you all know how important of a job you have.”

Tuesday’s gift wasn’t the first time Tepper and the other organizations have come together to assist local schools – the groups provided over 15,000 backpacks and school supplies to students at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. Giving back to educators is a cause that hits close to home for Tepper, whose mother, daughter, aunt and sister-in-law are all schoolteachers.