Karim Muhammad is the Founder and Executive Director of Teachers Appreciation Foundation. "The School Village Will Teach The Child." This motto was inspired by his mother who was a school teacher for over 30 years. Muhammad wanted to start a foundation that honors school teachers, custodians, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers and everyone involved in the school system as a whole. Muhammad’s mom was elated and very excited about the idea, so he started the foundation on June 9, 2014.

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Muhammad believes school teachers are underpaid and feels they are taken for granted. In order for a child to be an asset to the community, the child has to receive the proper education. When we look at the professional athletes and movie stars, we have to go back to their roots to remember how it all began? There was a teacher who sat with the basketball player and the movie star to teach them how to read and how to write. There was a bus driver who picked up the football player and the student who played chess. There was a cafeteria lady who made sure the aspiring students had food in their bellies. And of course, there was a janitor who made sure the restrooms had toilet paper, papertowels and gave encouragement when no one else would. All of this hard work poured into our youth is what made them successful today.

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Teachers Appreciation Foundation is aimed at highlighting the roots of these phenomenal people — they are pieces to the educational puzzle. We want to build the movement of appreciating the whole school body. “I want the people who go to school to get their teaching certification and degrees to look forward to the Teachers Appreciation Foundation Awards Show. I want them to look forward to the Awards Show as the Grammys for teachers and staff,” says Muhammad.

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Be a part of the appreciating movement and jump on board with us!