An Indian Lake educator is thankful for a custom classroom make-over to start the 2023-24 school year.The Fun Company store owner Mandy Osterfeld, her friends and employees put the final touches last week on Lisa Borgerding’s new elementary room. They sprinkled kindness throughout Borderding’s space with $1,000 worth of colorful classroom decor, including finished bulletin boards, labels, calendars, name tags, a reading group rug, personalized door decorations and more.
Borgerding was emotional when they revealed the completed classroom after two days of work.
“I’m crying. I didn’t think I would cry. I’m so grateful. It’s so helpful and it’s so beautiful,” she said.
Borgerding was especially appreciative because she moved from a seventh-grade classroom at Indian Lake Middle School to a first-grade room at Indian Lake Elementary School. With such a gap between the age of students, Borgerding found herself with few decorations or supplies suitable for her incoming class.
Borgerding has worked at The Fun Company in the past, so Osterfeld felt this grade level switch was a great opportunity to help out a friend and start a new way of giving back to the local education community.
“Teachers spend a lot of their own money on this kind of stuff. They do so much for our kids and pour their hearts into the students, we just want to give back to them.”
Going forward, Osterfeld said The Fun Company, home of the Education Station, 136 S. Main St., Bellefontaine, will take nominations from the public during the month of May to makeover one lucky classroom in Logan County.
The winning classroom will receive a prize package similar to what Borgerding received.
Classes begin at Indian Lake Schools for the new school year Wednesday, Aug. 30.
