On Monday, as with all other Knox County Schools, Inskip Elementary kicked off the new school year. Thanks to a bevy of community partners, though, one thing Inskip students (and their parents) didn’t have to worry about was school supplies.
Last week, KnoxTNToday featured a story about the school’s need for new stage curtains and some other improvements to the gymnasium/auditorium and a fund-raiser we’re helping with. Also noted in the story were some donations from the Inskip Lions Club.
While the Lions Club does have “an integral and historically close relationship with the school,” according to club treasurer Suzanne Matheny, it is but one of five organizations from the Friends of Inskip Elementary School to donate supplies. The others are Bookwalter United Methodist Church, Cedar Lane United Methodist Church, Inskip Baptist Church and the Inskip Community Association. The group recently added Christus Lutheran Church. Additional donations were made by Knoxville Pays It Forward and Black Oak Heights Baptist Church.
Edie Hall is the director of Children’s Ministries at Bookwalter UMC. She said the church is marking its 20th anniversary of supporting Inskip students with school supplies, a mission that originated with Bookwalter, noting the church’s long relationship with the school.
“Many of our older members went to Inskip school,” Hall said. “At one time, the church burned, and the school was used for church planning meetings. Bookwalter is very much a community church, so the school was a logical outreach. It’s not about proselytizing but being an active part of the community.”
Though Hall did not attend Inskip, she moved to the community just in time to enter sixth grade at Gresham Middle School, she does have a familial connection. Her great grandfather, Horace Bailey, was a custodian at the school, back in the early years when someone was needed to keep the coal fire lit. Hall is a 1987 graduate of Central High School.
The school supply program is called Pack-A-BackPack, and this year 170 were ready on Day 1 for grades 1-5, plus another 60 were put together for incoming kindergartners.
“With those classes, we really don’t know what they are going to need until the start of the school year, so we wait a bit,” Hall said. “Lists can change from year to year, but we start collecting in June and July using the previous list.”
Hall said the involvement of Bookwalter UMC and the broader Friends of Inskip members is what builds a sense of belonging.
“If you care about your community, it should matter to you to see students do well and to have what they need to do well,” she said. “And they remember that. And it isn’t just about school supplies. There might be a student whose family needs clothes or food. And we’re all here to help with that. That’s how it should be. You can’t have a strong community unless you have people invested in the community.”
Indeed.
Anyone able can please send a donation to the school at 4701 High School Road, Knoxville, TN 37912. Put “curtain fund” in the memo. At the moment, mailing a check to the school is the best option for making a donation.
We’ll be finding some special ways to recognize donors as well, so pick your level and send those checks.
- Executive Producer: $500+
- Producer: $250
- Director: $100
- Choreographer: $50
- Set Designer: $25
Stay tuned to this space to find out more about the school and why these improvements are vital to programs at Inskip.
Beth Kinnane is the community news editor for KnoxTNToday.com