Surprise & Delight for Southwest Airlines’ 50th

What better way to celebrate our dedicated PENCIL Partner, Southwest Airlines’ 50th Anniversary, than some Surprise & Delights? PENCIL has randomly selected three dedicated PENCIL partners and volunteers to receive these Surprise & Delight packages of free Southwest Airline vouchers.

Exceptional partners and volunteers, like these three, are what keep PENCIL going through their generous donations of time and resources. Let’s meet our Southwest Surprise & Delight winners:

1. Melissa Sheridan is a volunteer at the Branch Food Pantry, which supports PENCIL’s Family Resource Center (FRC) at Antioch High School. As a volunteer, Melissa distributes food boxes to students and families who are experiencing food insecurity or are suddenly sick and stuck in the house with COVID-19. During the pandemic the need for food boxes has increased, but Melissa doesn’t ever want lack of resources to get in the way of a student succeeding. She has donated over 100 hours of her time, volunteering with PENCIL this past school year and has a true passion for connecting students and families to resources they need. With her Surprise & Delight Southwest Airline Voucher, Melissa and her son will travel to Texas! Thank you, Melissa, for all your hard work and your long-term dedication to PENCIL and MNPS students!
2. Alena Moran is a volunteer at PENCIL’s LP PENCIL Box. Alena found the LP PENCIL Box through Hands On Nashville and was immediately inspired by PENCIL’s mission. Alena says she grew up around educators and noticed that they would often personally donate school supplies to students who were in need of resources. For her, the LP PENCIL Box provides an opportunity to support teachers who tirelessly dedicate their time to their students. In the past school year Alena has spent over 40 hours volunteering with PENCIL! Alena says that teachers have some of the hardest jobs on the planet and it’s clear from her dedication to the LP PENCIL Box that she stands by their side every step of the way. Powerful partnerships, like this, are what come from the community investing in Public Education – thank you Alena! Due to the pandemic, it has been over a year since Alena has seen her grandfather. Thanks to vaccinations and this perfectly timed Surprise & Delight Airline Voucher, she will get to finally spend some quality time with him this summer!
3. Katie Petrole is the Director of Education for the Nashville Parthenon, and works to nurture a strong PENCIL Partnership with the Academy of Art, Design & Communication at Hillwood High School. Katie was selected not only for her incredible work as a PENCIL Partner, but also for consistently logging the Parthenon’s volunteer hours in PENCIL’s community investment tracking platform – PENCIL Me In. Katie was genuinely surprised and delighted to learn about her Southwest Airline Voucher: “I’m going to see my family! My nieces, I haven’t seen in 16 months – they’re 3 and 1. Thank you, PENCIL and thank you, Southwest!”

PENCIL would not be what it is today without community volunteers and partners like Southwest Airlines, Melissa, Alena and Katie. Happy Anniversary, Southwest Airlines – we are thrilled to celebrate you, your 50 years of service and legendary hospitality, by extending your kindness and lifting up others with a fun Surprise & Delight.