In Nashville alone, 64 percent of students (more than 41,000 of 70,000 students) in Metro Schools come from families living below the poverty line. For them, school supplies are a rare luxury, one that compassionate teachers often use their own money to provide.
That’s where the LP Foundation comes in. We approached the PENCIL Foundation, a non-profit group that helps maintain the link between the private sector and Nashville schools, with an idea based on the LP-sponsored Schoolhouse Supplies model in Portland, Ore. We envisioned a free school supply store where people could drop off school supplies, volunteers would sort and inventory donations and teachers could shop for free.
A $30,000 donation from the LP Foundation, and a $15,000 matching grant, made the LP PENCIL Box store a reality last year.
To date the store has collected about $60,000 worth of supplies, and has served more than 450 teachers from 46 elementary schools. The average value of supplies each teacher receives per visit is more than $110.
“I think it’s nice to know if you need something, this is where you go,” said DuPont Elementary Principal Stephanie Hoskins.
Thanks to the LP PENCIL Box, teachers are getting the tools they need to help kids learn and improving students’ odds of success—in the classroom and beyond.