Saving money is the biggest advantage that Retail Rebel offers customers, but the benefits don’t just stop with customers. The savings extend into classrooms 

where kids are excited to craft and design projects using fun finds from our Bargain Bins stores. One local school has a caring staff member that brings in those treasures each week for students and staff to enjoy. 

Lori Stengel has a positive, radiating energy that she has used to serve the communities she has lived in.  After moving to Kansas City, she started an exciting career in traffic broadcasting for multiple radio stations across the city. While delivering traffic reports using multiple aliases and voices, she also provided before and after school care at a local school. 

The kids at Martin Luther Academy in the northland adore Lori’s fun personality, but they also look forward to one thing each week, Lori’s visits to Retail Rebel.  As a part of her program, she buys lots of supplies for student activities. Fun notebooks, paint, markers, pencils, folders, post-it notes, and crafting supplies are just a few of the items she buys each week.  She also buys pop-its as a tool for kids to use when they are anxious or stressed. The best part? She typically buys all these items on Fridays, for only 50 cents each. This allows Lori to fund fun ideas for way less than retail.

We asked Lori if she finds everything she needs each week. She said she brings a list with her of items she needs at home and at school and searches until she finds those items or something better. Most often, she finds treasures she wasn’t even expecting that are perfect for a different project and it sparks ideas of engagement activities for the future. 

Each year her school hosts an auction with various experiences and typical auction items like paintings and gift cards. Last school year, she auctioned off “A Day of Fun at Retail Rebel.” She took the winner to lunch, then off to Retail Rebel to hunt for those unexpected gems. Each winner visited the store with $20 in hand to explore all the 50 cent items in bins! The young winners were thrilled to experience the fun.  

 

Customers like Lori Stengel show us that savings extend past our store walls.  This year Lori is embarking on a new journey, as she has accepted an offer to be the 6th grade teacher at Martin Luther Academy. We can’t wait to see what fun activities she does with her sixth graders using 50 cent “tools” she finds at Retail Rebel. We hope she has a wonderful school year, and hope to catch up with her soon to learn more.