6/9/2015 10:01:37 AM
Students from Stephenville Primary School helped collect more than 6,000 pencils for the Pencils for Philly program, a program supported by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP) and established by CNA Dean of Business and Information Technology, Mary Vaughan. Two of those students, Matthew Benoit and Bella Skinner, presented their donation to Ms. Vaughan (left) and Tasha Skinner (right), Enactus Stephenville President, at the Bay St. George Campus.
It might not seem like much, but for some students having access to a pencil to do their classwork or homework is more difficult that you might think!
That’s why for the past two months CNA campuses have been collecting pencils in order to support the Pencils for Philly initiative, a program organized through the support of the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP) and managed at CNA by the Dean of Business and Information Technology, Mary Vaughan. The aim is to provide pencils to young children in schools in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
“This basic tool, a pencil, is something that many of the children do not have and it makes you realize just how fortunate we are,” said Vaughan, who with the assistance of two colleagues, will be transporting the pencils when she travels to Philadelphia this week for the annual ACBSP conference. “We have collected over 6,000 pencils with the significant support of the Stephenville and St. George’s primary schools, that’s in conjunction with the CNA campus in Bay St. George raising over 3,300 pencils themselves! We started with a goal of 4,000 and we now have 6,192 and counting!”
Vaughan believes the program’s impact will be significant, with more than 1,000 institutions from around the world taking part. CNA campuses that participated in the program were Bay St. George, Clarenville, Grand Falls-Windsor and Prince Philip Drive.
“Pencils for Philly is a global initiative that was spearheaded by ACBSP this year. We have raised close to 30,000 pencils so far and the support continues to grow. It is amazing to see the support and love from so many institutions and people around the world!” said Vaughan. “I believe this activity not only benefits the children of Philadelphia, but it also gives our local children and CNA students the opportunity to give back to others in need and to see that business is more than books and figures – it’s about social giving as well.”
To learn more about the Pencils for Philly program or to donate, visit http://www.acbsp.org/page/ac_pfp. You can also follow along on Twitter and Show Your Love for Philly by using the hashtag, #ACBSP4CHANGE.