Providing the Basics Means So Much

Chad Sisson, guidance counselor at Haywood Elementary and Betty DeGraff, Assistance League member

Our PENCIL Partners come in all shapes and sizes. They are large and small businesses. They are universities, civic groups and even other nonprofits. And they are all doing what they can to help Nashville students have the best education possible. Many times that means just ensuring students have food or clothing. We have a district with a high percentage of impoverished students. We also have more and more refugee children filling our classrooms whose families arrive to this country with very, very little.

We are so proud and honored to have Partners that are ready to assist.

For six years, System-wide PENCIL Partner, Assistance League^® of Nashville, through its Operation School Bell^® program, has supplied impoverished elementary students with new Standard School Attire (SSA). When the district first adopted the SSA policy, which limits students’ clothing to khaki’s, collared shirts, belts (and other restrictions), many families were overwhelmed financially with the transition. Assistance League members immediately identified this as an area they could make a major impact. They set up a space to collect SSA clothing and came up with a plan to distribute to children in need. Each child that is referred by school personnel receives two pairs of khaki pants, two polo shirts, six pairs of socks, and a belt.

In December, Assistance League provided new SSA to 17 students in the Newcomers Class at McMurray Middle School. One of the members also organized a donation of 462 pens, pencils, and markers as well as 72 reusable grocery bags to give to families utilizing the food bank. To date, the organization has served over 2,400 students with SSA!

Well, they aren’t finished yet. The League is constantly evaluating their program and assessing the needs of our schools. When school administrators mentioned that children’s underwear is also in high-demand, they leaped into action once again.  In February, they implemented a trial program, “Project Underwear.”  Three teams of Assistance League members personally delivered 3,123 pairs of underwear to stock nine elementary school emergency clothes closets.

Well done, Assistance League! Well done.

Assistance League Member Patti Hash with Shwab Elementary Guidance Counselor Charlie Traylor