Eula Battle leaves behind strong education legacy with Free 2 Teach

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Many hearts in the Rocket City are heavy.

Eula Battle, wife of mayor Tommy Battle, lost her fight with cancer Tuesday morning.

But she, nor the strong legacy she left behind, will be forgotten.

Eula Battle has made the lives of thousands of teachers here in Madison County better.

She spent 26 years teaching for Madison County Schools. But when she retired, she didn’t stop working to make an impact on local classrooms.

$545 is the average amount of supplies teachers fill their carts with. Because of Eula, teachers can continue to supplies they need all year long, every other month.

“This is a Eula Battle organization. This is her heart and soul," Alison Kling, development director of Free 2 Teach said.

Battle started Free 2 Teach, a non profit for teachers in Madison County in 2011.

Since then, they’ve distributed $7.2 million in free school supplies to teachers at Madison County, Madison City and Huntsville City Schools.

“She rallied an entire community around our children and our teachers, she made a difference every day," Kling said.

Kling worked alongside Eula Battle for three and a half years.

“Just the joy and the fun we had as a team, she just made every day count and every interaction count. You just feel so palpably that vision," Kling said.

Madison County Public Schools art teacher, Madison Coburn, is just one of many who is now seeing the results of that vision.

“I’m actually from Kentucky, I moved here last year and I had never heard of anything like this before and I was just completely amazed. I hate to ask for funds, especially during COVID-19, so knowing I can come here and get resources to help me out, it’s a relief for me, it’s a relief for parents," Coburn said.

Kling says all the volunteers at Free 2 Teach will continue their work in Eula’s honor.

“Her battle with cancer... she faced every day with so much courage and strength. We were just talking about normal supplies and stuff and she just sighed and I knew she was so grateful. I just feel so honored that we got to spend that time with her. We’re going to miss her so much,” Kling said.

Kling tells me Free 2 Teach is always accepting donations and volunteers to continue the mission.

If you’d like to donate, click here.

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