KELLOGG — Recent donations from the Kellogg NAPA Auto Parts store have provided local high school students with brand-new tools. 

Last month, career technical education teachers at Kellogg, Mullan and Wallace high schools were notified by NAPA manager Kat Hileman that, due to the store updating its Carlyle brand of tools and switching from Craftsman to Milwaukee, it would donate thousands of dollars’ worth of tools and toolboxes to local shop classes. 

While all three schools received donations, Wallace Jr./Sr. High School students were among the biggest beneficiaries. Hileman evaluated the needs of each school, noting that Wallace’s Trades and Industry class focuses primarily on woodwork and some welding, not the typical lineup of tools found at an auto parts store. 

According to Wallace instructor Brandon Voorhees, NAPA’s donation totaled more than $10,000 and included cordless drills, impacts, sawzalls, extra batteries, taps and dyes for machining, and a new rolling tool chest to replace an older cabinet. The program also received a floor jack and numerous hand tools, wrenches, screwdrivers, nut-drivers, files, drill indexes, pliers, hacksaws and blades, ensuring students have modern equipment for hands-on learning. 

“This means so much, especially when our funding is proportional to our enrollment and attendance,” Voorhees said. “We spend the majority of our budget on lumber, steel and consumables. Our budget has been around $11,000 per year for the last six years, and it’s been tough because the price of lumber and steel goes up, but our budget has not increased. The donation will give us some flexibility in our spending for the next handful of years where we will be in a good position to allocate funds for replacing machines or equipment and not just spending it on materials.” 

In Mullan, Industrial Maintenance and Mechanics instructor Steve Trogden said his program received a similar lineup of tools, with a few exceptions tailored to its automotive and small-engine focus, including a creeper and specialty automotive tools. 

“We’re really grateful for the support,” Trogden said. “Kat stepped up and let NAPA know how much our school district would appreciate the donation, and the team down there truly delivered. They’re a solid group of people, and their generosity is already making an impact in our shop. With our students doing regular automotive, mechanic and millwright work, this donation strengthens the hands-on training we provide. The seniors even claimed the new toolbox as their own, they’re pretty proud of it.” 

Kellogg High School Industrial Science instructor Cory North, who has been revamping CTE programs at KHS through grants and donations, said funding challenges have limited what he can teach. 

“This is a tremendous help in making my class more organized and gives the students a better opportunity to see what equipment is needed in the industry,” North said. 

More donations are on the way. Hileman said the Kellogg store has received additional tools from other stores in the region for a second round of giving. 

“I was told to find and fill a need, so I did,” Hileman said. “It was Christmas in November and now we get to do it again.” 

Hileman estimates her store has donated at least $20,000 worth of tools, though she believes the actual number may be higher. Local groups such as Shoshone Pet Rescue, Silver Valley Seniors, Mullan’s Volunteer Fire Department and several auto shops also benefited. 

“It was the most fun thing I’ve ever done,” Hileman said. “It was just so amazing. It’s been unreal what we’ve been able to do. I wish I could do this for a job. Making people happy is awesome.”