© 2026 ABC News

Local businesses, other Pittsburgh-area school districts, and donors as far away as Utah began sending not just paper but all other types of school supplies, said Couch.

“We even had an alum that graduated [from Sto-Rox schools] in 1952 drop off paper,” Couch told “GMA.” “It was amazing to see everybody come back in order to help the students…. I felt really proud of the community and I felt really proud to help the students that I work with every day.”

Since the tweet, donations have come in from nearly 500 individuals, local groups and businesses through the Amazon Wish List set up by Couch.

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy of Katie Couch
PHOTO: School supply donations have come from nearly 500 individuals, local groups, and businesses said Katie Couch.
>

“We have a lot of donations from people that are saying, ‘From one teacher to another’ or ‘From one former educator to another,’ It’s incredible,” said Couch. “I think we’ve gotten over 300 boxes of tissues alone, which is amazing because that’s really going to help our classrooms.”

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy of Katie Couch
PHOTO: According to Katie Couch, about 300 boxes of tissues has been donated to the Sto-Rox school district
>

Sto-Rox has 1,400 students ranging from kindergarten through high school. Students at all three of its schools -- primary, upper elementary and high school -- qualify for free breakfast and lunch, according to Heather Johnston, Sto-Rox Upper Elementary School's principal.

Johnston, who attended the Sto-Rox schools herself, said this issue is all but far too common for low-income school districts.

“[Sto-Rox schools] don’t have a strong tax base like other districts… At the end of the day, we fall short because we have to think about the necessities,” said Johnston. “Do we pay for lights? Do we pay for books? Or do we pay for paper? I think it just came to that point this year, because the bills are piling up.”

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy of Katie Couch
PHOTO: School supply donations have come from nearly 500 individuals, local groups, and businesses said Katie Couch.
>

Sto-Rox partners with nonprofits such as the Education Partnership, which helps the school get supplies, but this year the district had to ultimately turn to the community for support, said Johnston.

“The community support that we have received from this [tweet], I mean, it’s been overwhelming,” said Johnston, whose advice to other low-income school districts is to just ask for help. “I realized how strong the community is. As an alumni [of Sto-Rox], I’ve had people that I haven’t talked to in 20 years reach out because Sto-Rox is a special place. It’s a place that doesn’t matter how far away you are, you have roots here.”

pic.twitter.com/jzvQtfbTCT

— Katie Couch (@Couch_Kitten) February 14, 2020

While Couch said she's incredibly appreciative of the donations and the online attention, she's also happy to raise awareness of low-income school district funding.

“Our schools need supplies,\" she said. This story is \"for every teacher that could use a little something extra or they could use some fundraising or just the extra help.\" Couch would like this story to \"bring to light\" how school funding works within the educational system. \"Especially with voting that’s coming up. It’s just a reminder to people to look at how education is funded and bring awareness to what [students] need right now.”

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Living/teachers-tweet-school-running-paper-sparks-outpouring-support/story?id=69484683","legacySlug":"/living/story/teachers-tweet-school-running-paper-sparks-outpouring-support-69484683","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"08:46","publishDate":"03-10-2020","updatedTime":"23:50","updatedDate":"03-10-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Katie Couch pictured with Sto-Rox Upper Elementary principal, Heather Johnston, with reams of donated paper.","credit":"Courtesy of Katie Couch","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/katie-1-ht-er-200309_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"3/10/2020 08:46:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":69484683,"headline":"A tweet about paper sparks support","mediaAssetTitle":"TEACHER TWEETS FOR SUPPLIES","description":"A Pittsburgh community is showing what it really means to love your neighbor.","duration":"4:57","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/02/200203_gma_reeve_843_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["68246094","68562324","69130854"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"January 15, 2020","headline":"Teachers' germ-filled science experiment will make you want to wash your hands","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/teacher-germ-filled-science-experiment-wash-hands-68246094","id":68246094,"image":{"alt":"Teachers' germ-filled science experiment will make you want to wash your hands","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/gma-bread-germs-200115-ca_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Jaralee Metcalf\n","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"January 28, 2020","headline":"Teachers reunite with mom whose baby they helped deliver at school","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/teachers-reunite-mom-baby-helped-deliver-school-68562324","id":68562324,"image":{"alt":"Teachers reunite with mom whose baby they helped deliver at school","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/soto-rodriguez-ht-jt-200127_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"IDEA Public Schools\n","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"February 27, 2020","headline":"Teacher dressed up as a black leader every day for Black History Month","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/teacher-dressed-black-leader-day-black-history-month-69130854","id":69130854,"image":{"alt":"Teacher dressed up as a black leader every day for Black History Month","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/latoya-mcgriff-black-history-month-01-ht-jc-200221_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Courtesy Latoya McGriff","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"A tweet about paper sparks support","description":"A Pittsburgh community is showing what it really means to love your neighbor.","duration":"4:57","uploadDate":"03-10-2020","publication":"03-10-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/02/200203_gma_reeve_843_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/02/200203_gma_reeve_843_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/teachers-tweet-school-running-paper-sparks-outpouring-support-69484683"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:living:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"living","title":"A tweet about paper sparks support","pubTime":"04:46","pubDate":"03-10-2020","modTime":"19:50","modDate":"03-10-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":69484683,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"A tweet about paper sparks support","mediaAssetTitle":"TEACHER TWEETS FOR SUPPLIES","videoId":69484683,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/living/story/teachers-tweet-school-running-paper-sparks-outpouring-support-69484683"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/69484683","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/69484683","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};