BUFFALO, N.Y. — There's Christmas in July, and then there's The Teacher’s Desk.

Holiday tunes play inside the Northampton Street store as thousands of teachers from across Western New York shop for supplies.

Why? John Mike, director of the non-profit, says it’s because they always say it’s like Christmas. Mika's idea of retirement went from substitute teaching to turning into Saint Nick when he saw the difference between the classrooms in Williamsville and Buffalo.

He started The Teacher's Desk in 2011 and now teachers from 250 schools get on average $1,000 worth of free supplies each trip. The only limits are what's on the signs. To qualify, 70 percent or more of students must be eligible for free or reduced lunches. 

It's a huge help considering on average a teacher spends $479 of their own money on supplies each year. That data, released back in May by the National Center of Education Statistics, also shows 94 percent of teachers are paying that out of pocket expense.

So if a school isn't shopping here and meets the qualifications, Mika says a school administrator or clerk can email shopping@theteachersdesk.org to sign up.