Salisbury, MD – As the 2025-2026 school year approaches, new teachers are set to join Wicomico County. Relocating to a new area can be overwhelming, and the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce aims to ease the transition by providing “Welcome New Teacher Bags” to public and private school teachers in the county. This initiative is intended to demonstrate the business community’s support and appreciation for the new teachers.
Paula Nichols, SACC Ambassador and owner of Motif Expressions Promotional Products, will be coordinating this year’s Welcome New Teacher Bags program.
Bill Chambers, President/CEO of the SACC, expressed, “The Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce and our generous members welcome and support all new teachers to Wicomico County. The Welcome New Teacher Bag program is a small token of the business community’s appreciation for these dedicated individuals as they prepare to educate our young citizens.”
Acknowledging the Pohanka Automotive Group of Salisbury’s ongoing sponsorship and the contributions from chamber members, Chambers stated, “We extend a special thanks to the Pohanka Automotive Group of Salisbury and other generous donors, whose support helps uphold this annual tradition.”
The Chamber encourages local businesses and non-profits to donate useful items for the teachers to extend appreciation and offer an opportunity for business promotion. Chambers emphasized, “Many of these teachers are new to our community, and this will be one of the first contacts that they will have with the great businesses here on Delmarva. It is important to make them feel welcome and share information about our local businesses and community.”
Donated items may include promotional items, gift cards, school supplies, community business “swag” items, coupons, or other practical items that would be useful to our new teachers. No flyers or brochures, please.
Optionally, monetary donations ranging from $100 to $150 are also welcome, and these funds will be used to purchase additional useful items to be included in the bags. All sponsors, including those making monetary contributions, will be recognized on a note included in the bags, on social media and print media.
If your business would like to participate or volunteer to stuff the bags, please contact Paula Nichols at Nichols.motifexpressions@gmail.com or call 443-859-0696.
A quantity of 200 items should be delivered to the chamber office Monday through Thursday, between 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
Please note that the chamber office is closed on Friday through Labor Day. The deadline to donate is Monday, August 4, 2025.
The “bag stuffing” event is scheduled for Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at the chamber office. The bags will be distributed to new public-school teachers during the New Teacher Summer Academy at James M. Bennett High School and to the private-school new teachers in Wicomico County in August.
