Updates & Insights

Alpaca can be used to create a fun, inspiring, and joyful experience that improves morale for teachers. From making pack delivery a student incentive to involving parent volunteers in surprising your teachers - our principals have shared some amazing ideas for how to delight teachers with their monthly pack!

In February, Alpaca was proud to partner with Clean Slate Food Co, a meal delivery service and new Millwork Commons neighbor here in Omaha. Our pack included incredible snacks, treats, and a reusable lunch container for teachers. It was a hit! 

This is the brilliant work that doesn’t show up on a teacher’s job description.This is the innovation that we don’t hear about in news articles about teachers and schools.This is the untold work of a teacher who will spend her weekend refurbishing a rocking chair, in hopes that it will help one more kid open up and let her in.

If you’re wondering how to help a teacher throughout the year, here’s the list of what we need, and how often we need it, straight from the source! 

One year ago today, I officially launched Alpaca. We built 27 packs of supplies and appreciation for teachers at one Omaha school. They were paid for by me and my parent friends (our kids go to that school), and the whole thing was still called a "project."

10,000 packs delivered. $284,500 back in teachers pockets. 10,500 thank you notes written. A new team, a new office, and thousands of parents supporting teachers! See how we did against our company's commitments in our first ever impact report.

For this year’s Holiday Gift Pack, we partnered with some truly incredible brands who are excited to support teachers with some beautiful gifts. Each pack will have unique styles, colors, and exact offerings, but every pack has the same value (more than $45 of stuff!) and each will delight your teacher.

Thank you to all of the subs who give teachers a much-needed break, who fill in in a pinch, and step up and step in with confidence every day. I’ve been there, and I know the job is difficult. You are needed, valued, and appreciated. You’re not “just a sub.” You’re a superhero.

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership with the Omaha Public Schools district! Support from Omaha Public Schools will ensure that Alpaca packs get to every single OPS elementary teacher this year. We are grateful to work with Nebraska's largest school district!

No mugs, no apples. Why? Because your teachers are so much more than those cute school themes might suggest. Want the real list, from real teachers? Here are the 10 holiday gift ideas that make teachers feel like respected, appreciated professionals. From Alpaca contributing educator Leigh Dunn.

This month’s featured teacher is Leigh Dunn from Willowdale Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska. Ms. Dunn is known for her creativity in the classroom, so the October pack was a home run for her class!

One of our favorite things at Alpaca is hearing the incredibly creative ways teachers solve problems, make great (and innovative) use of resources, and reach kids! Thanks to the amazing Alpaca supporters, parent subscribers, and district partners, our teachers got a GREAT pack this month. Check it out!

In September, Alpaca set off on our very first company retreat. On Amtrak. For 38 hours. For 1,400 miles from Omaha, Nebraska to Truckee, California.

If you have five minutes today, you have time to support your teacher. And best of all, it’s free.

Teachers hold our communities together in extraordinary ways - here's how we celebrated them in September! This month, we delighted 800+ teachers with all the things they use to organize and decorate their classrooms!

Happy September, Alpaca friends! Now that school is back in full swing around Omaha, the Alpaca team is as busy as we can be – new schools, new packs, new partners – read all about it!

Telling the stories of parents and community members supporting teachers through Alpaca is one of our favorite things and we love to welcome new friends to our space! WOWT joined Alpaca for a recent packout - check it out!

We kicked off the school year with our biggest pack of the year! From prize boxes to delight students to gorgeous pens; everyone's favorite Astrobrights papers to essential classroom cleaning and wellness supplies -- this pack has a little bit of everything. And teachers LOVED it. See what they got!

Alpaca is kicking off the new school year with BIG news: 20 incredible schools (and 700 extraordinary teachers), a program to match every parent subscription 1 for 1, and the awesome things parents are doing to bring Alpaca to their schools. 

From Flatwater Free Press: Colored paper, coats and cookies: Teachers dip into own pockets to supply classrooms, aid students

Thank you to Jonah Gilmore from KETV NewsWatch 7 for covering our story, mission, and this exciting delivery day to one of our new Alpaca schools, Kellom Elementary!

Over time and as our team formed, we’ve solidified the promises we are making, as a team, as we grow Alpaca. Here’s what we’re promising our customers, our teachers, our investors, and each other. 

Summer break may be in full swing for teachers, principals, students, and parents but the Alpaca team was busy getting ready (and getting extra excited) for our very first back to school season!

May was an exciting month at Alpaca! It marked the opening of Alpaca’s new office in Millwork Commons, new additions to the team (yay!), the launch of our new website, blog, and social media pages, and our first teacher appreciation party where 40+ teachers shopped our “supply bar” and celebrated the end of the school year.

In time for the last month of school, teachers can start looking forward to a reflective summer with journaling supplies, poetry, and everyone's favorite: ice cream!

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for your teacher, we’ve got your back. We survey every teacher we work with to hear about what supplies they love the most, what they don’t need, what they spend their own money on, and what brands they choose!

As we descend the small staircase to her basement-level classroom, Erin remarks with a smile, “you know, in 25 years of teaching, I’ve never once had a window in my classroom!” It isn’t stated as a complaint but rather a badge of honor.

140 teachers at 5 schools received a pack of well-organized and delightful supplies to head back outside as the weather warms up!

Bright, colorful, and filled with JOY -- our March packs brought some color into the cold of winter here in Omaha, Nebraska. The best part: they were curated by two amazing art teachers right here in Omaha!

Check out the lovely teacher appreciation treats we delivered to 3 schools (67 teachers!) in February!

In our very first packs, Alpaca welcomed back Washington Elementary's 27 teachers from the holiday break with a refresh of classroom necessities.