With public schools back in session in Middle Tennessee, the Vanderbilt Community Relations team is thrilled to support back-to-school efforts benefitting teachers, students, and their families. Vanderbilt is a proud sponsor of the PENCIL Foundation and Creative Girls Rock.
PENCIL's Together4Teachers is an annual back-to-school teacher appreciation project that celebrates MNPS teachers as they build out their classrooms for the start of a new school year and raises awareness of the DG PENCIL Box, a year-round resource where teachers can shop for free supplies each month.
Through the Together4Teachers initiative, Community Impact Officer Elizabeth Bumpas delivered 60 supply bags to our neighboring schools Carter-Lawrence Elementary and Eakin Elementary. These bags of supplies and products will go directly to teachers at these schools as they kick off the new school year!
Bumpas joined PENCIL’s Board of Directors in July 2023.
On July 31, the Community Relations team attended the Together4Teachers Pep Rally hosted by PENCIL at First Horizon Park to celebrate MNPS teachers and the start of a new school year. At the event, PENCIL welcomed approximately 500 teachers, and gave away nearly 1200 teacher bags, with more delivered directly to schools that week, part of nearly 2400 total teacher giveaways that will be shared through the initiative, including our neighboring schools.
Vanderbilt Community Relations also supported Creative Girls Rock’s 2023 Back 2 School Bash in August. Chief Community Impact Officer, Midori Lockett attended their Summer Supply Drive at Napier Elementary for MNPS students. Over 1,000 families across Greater Nashville were provided with backpacks filled with supplies for their children during the Back 2 School Bash event, and 22 MNPS Community Achieves schools received backpacks as well.
Thank you to all our Metro teachers who shape the young minds of today! We wish our local students and families the best as the 2023-24 school year begins!
About the PENCIL Foundation: PENCIL is a nonprofit organization that builds strategic partnerships between community groups and schools to address the needs of Metro Nashville Public Schools.
About Creative Girls Rock: Creative Girls Rock’s mission is to educate and empower young girls and women to utilize their creative talents to enhance their lives and the world around them through programming focused on creative expression, arts and crafts, artistic design, visual arts and empowerment.