Pender Education Partnership needs the community’s support to help Pender County students and teachers.
With all the concerns of COVID-19, education across the world has suffered severe setbacks in 2020. Here in Pender County, educators, parents and community members are rightfully concerned about the education outlook for the foreseeable future.
Pender Education Partnership (PEP), a nonprofit organization whose main emphasis is to provide seniors with scholarships and help Pender County Schools teachers bring strong, meaningful learning opportunities to their students, is assisting, but the need is far greater than their available resources.
That’s why PEP is asking for donations from the local business community and anyone else who is able to make a contribution.
“We understand what a difficult year this has been, and that there is no end in sight,” Stipe says. “Under the circumstances, PEP is very aware of the limitations your businesses have, but we are hoping that you still might be in a position to contribute even a small amount to our cause. No donation is too small and will be greatly appreciated.”
Thanks to community contributions, PEP has a history of making a meaningful impact on the Pender County Schools system. In 2019 PEP raised $12,000 for Pender County Schools staff and faculty who were impacted by Hurricane Florence. At the end of the 2020 school year, PEP stayed steadfast in its mission to provide scholarships through Operation SOS (Save Our Seniors), which raised $8,000 for senior scholarships by way of donations from businesses and the citizens of Pender County.
For the past four years, PEP’s Mini-Grant program has provided educational platforms like technology, interactive learning opportunities and various creative learning tools that school budgets can’t support.
“Unfortunately, COVID-19 continues to impact our schools, and we need to support our teachers by providing assistance through our Mini-Grant program,” Stipe says.
As in the past, PEP will request applications from teachers, but this year they are delaying applications until the spring term while the district balances providing meaningful instruction with following state and CDC safety precautions.
‘We know our efforts are appreciated, and that PEP brings value to our community,” Stipe says. “We receive comments such as ‘without PEP and this scholarship, furthering my education would not be possible’ and ‘thank you PEP for your generosity and recognition during this very difficult time.’”
Can you help?
If you are able to support Pender Education Partnership with a monetary contribution, visit the website at pendereducationpartnership.com.
PEP is a 501©3 organization, so your donation is tax deductible. The tax ID number is 47-5526553.
All proceeds PEP raises go to Pender County Schools seniors and teachers.
