- PENCIL to host ribbon cutting at the Antioch DG PENCIL Box location, with new Presenting Sponsor, Dollar General, on Wednesday, January 26
- Available media opportunity with PENCIL, MNPS, and Dollar General Leadership, as well as Metro Government Officials and MNPS teachers.
- Through the DG PENCIL Box, any MNPS teacher can shop for free once a quarter at a PENCIL location for core supplies such as pencils, crayons, glue sticks, copy paper, and composition books, as well as classroom décor, cleaning supplies, tissues, and more.
Nashville, TN (January 25, 2022) – PENCIL will host a ribbon cutting at 5:30 PM on Wednesday, January 26 to commemorate Dollar General Literacy Foundation as the new Presenting Sponsor of the PENCIL Box, PENCIL’s free school supply store for Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS) teachers. The ribbon cutting will also mark the official opening of our second DG PENCIL Box location – a satellite store in Antioch, where MNPS teachers can “shop” on Mondays and Wednesdays throughout the Spring.
WHAT: PENCIL will hold a special in-person ribbon cutting in celebration of two huge milestone – the official renaming of its free teacher supply store, thanks to a generous investment from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, and the grand opening of its first-ever ancillary store in Antioch.
WHO:
Denine Torr, Dollar General VP of Corporate Social Responsibility & Philanthropy
Christine Buggs, MNPS Board of Education Chair
Dr. Adrienne Battle, MNPS Director of Schools
Mayor John Cooper
Norman Merrifield, PENCIL Board Chair
Metro Council Education Committee members, MNPS Board members and MNPS teachers have been invited to join in the celebration
WHEN: Wednesday, January 26 from 5 – 6 PM
5 – 5:30 PM – Ribbon cutting guests arrive; MNPS teachers will already be onsite shopping
5:30 PM – Brief remarks, followed by ribbon-cutting moment
5:45 PM – Photo and media interview opportunity
6 PM – Event concludes
Media is invited to attend the entire ribbon cutting celebration. The brief remarks will begin promptly at 5:30 PM with a ribbon cutting and an additional media opportunity with speakers and guests to follow.
WHERE: The Antioch DG PENCIL Box is located inside the Tri-Star Medical Plaza (5380 Hickory Hollow Pkwy, Antioch, TN 37013). Guests will park behind the building and enter via the building’s back entrance. The DG PENCIL Box is located through the first door on the right.
Fellow community advocate, LP Building Solutions, the initial seed funder, and sustainer of the PENCIL Box, passed the baton to Dollar General as the new Presenting Sponsor. With an investment of $175,000 from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, the program will be renamed the DG PENCIL Box and will ensure that MNPS teachers continue to have access to essential classroom supplies.
With the second DG PENCIL Box location, PENCIL aims to provide more convenient access, especially for teachers who live or work in the southeastern part of the city and offers the same core classroom supplies available at the main location at 7199 Cockrill Bend Blvd. in West Nashville. Through the generosity of Ben and Thomas Freeland, the Antioch store space is donated in-kind for PENCIL’s use, while Dollar General has generously provided shelving, fixtures, and key supplies to the space.
The DG PENCIL Box will be open to Metro teachers for shopping appointments at both the West Nashville and Antioch sites here: www.pencilforschools.org
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About PENCIL
Founded in 1982 by a collective of Nashville business leaders, PENCIL (www.pencilforschools.org) links community resources to Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life. Our work is guided by the needs of MNPS, is student-centric, and is achieved through partnerships and tangible engagements. PENCIL envisions a world where access and opportunities are equitable for all students to have a successful future.
About the Dollar General Literacy Foundation
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $203 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 14.8 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. Each year, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation provides financial support to schools, nonprofit organizations and libraries within a 15-mile radius of Dollar General stores and distribution centers. To learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation or apply for a literacy grant, visit www.dgliteracy.org.
About Dollar General Corporation
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for more than 80 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day.® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares and seasonal items at everyday low prices in convenient neighborhood locations. Dollar General operated 17,915 stores in 46 states as of October 29, 2021. In addition to high-quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America’s most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and PepsiCo. Learn more about Dollar General at www.dollargeneral.com.
