allowed us the opportunity to purchase the additional supplies we needed. Between the financial contributions, in-kind gifts, and supply donations, the community raised over $50,000 for local students,” she goes on. “During the event itself, 300 volunteers came out and packed 10,000 bags filled with basic school supplies and wrote over 2,000 encouraging letters to teachers.”
“We were blown away by the community support behind this project. There was tons of excitement generated behind Prepped for Success, and it shows that our community cares about education and opportunity for all of its students.” - Valerie Guzman, United Way CEO
Imagine that. Just think about how much that pencil means to the student going without it, when so many of his peers have countless pencils at their disposal and even computers on which to work. For the students doing without, these are disadvantages that follow them down the halls of their schools, into their classrooms, and back to their homes. They carry it with them each day, strapped into the burden of that disadvantage like a backpack loaded with books. It’s a challenge to overcome that only adds to the already weighty task of keeping their grades up in school, which is why unloading that burden is so key to setting them up for success. “The community rallied together to generously support this initiative,” says Sarah Wood, Community Engagement Director at United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region. “We received corporate and individual financial contributions and in-kind gifts as well as donations of school supplies. Between the City and County government employees, thousands of crayons and colored pencils were given to support the project. We also received a significant in-kind gift from Staples, which
“Although a small bag with school supplies may not seem like a lot, this initiative speaks volumes to the students in our community,” Wood asserts. “Prepped for Success shows them that the community supports their academic achievements and desires to prepare them for an incredible year ahead. The community-wide project also allows students to have the necessary supplies to begin the school year; and by giving a student a pencil, our community is giving the student opportunity.” While the backpacks might have been filled with supplies, they were also filled with so much more: the opportunity to succeed and a reminder that their community believes that they have potential that needs to be given the chance to thrive.
THANKS TO THE SPONSORS: Gold Level Sponsors: Altra Federal Credit Union, Community Action Agency, Fortera Credit Union, and Platnter’s Bank. Silver Level Sponsors include F&M Bank, First Advantage Bank, New Car Dealer Association, Regions Bank, and Wyatt-Johnson.
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