Concert Benefits Pencil Box, Local School Children

[June 29, 2006, 10:30 am]

"Concert Benefits Pencil Box, Local School Children"

Hootie and the Blowfish kicked off their summer tour Wednesday night with a concert a the Hard Rock Café, with some of the proceeds going to the Pencil Foundation, a foundation that aims to help student succeed in the classroom, but providing the basic of basic needs.

Connie Williams, Executive Director of the Pencil Foundation said, “We're in the process of gathering school supplies for children in Nashville who don't have the tools that they need when they start back to school.”

An estimated 63% of Nashville children don't have the resources at home to purchase what they need for school. Williams said, “If children...

...don't have the school supplies that they need when they start school they have trouble getting off to a good start and have trouble learning. Teachers will often purchase school supplies out of their own money.”

She said a national study found that teachers spend around $200 out of their own pocket each year on supplies for their classroom. Williams said teachers should not have to supplement the local budget, to pay for children school supplies, but they do.

The Pencil Foundation has had a lot of help from the community as well as celebrities, such as Hootie and the Blowfish.

Visit href="http://www.pencilfoundation.org"> www.pencilfoundation.org for more information.