News & Photos
Songwriters Perform for Pencils and Other School Supplies Tonight
June 21, 2011NASHVILLE, TN, June 21, 2011—United Way of Metropolitan Nashville tonight launches a six-week “Stuff the Bus” drive to provide encouragement and back-to-school essentials for 2,500 of Nashville’s neediest school children. United Way’s Stuff the Bus Launch Concert tonight from 7 until 9 p.m. at The Listening Room Café in Nashville’s Cummins Station, will be packed with emerging Music City talent.
The line-up of artists was determined in a songwriting contest held by United Way over the past several weeks. Ten finalists were select from 69 songs that were entered; those 10 finalists will perform their original material tonight. With the help of the audience, one song will be picked and featured in promotion of the event. Grammy nominated hit songwriter and artist Cary Barlowe, one of tonight’s panel of 5 judges, has written hits for Taylor Swift, TobyMac and Lady Antebellum, and will also perform at the concert.
Admission is only $5 and all the money will go to buy school supplies to be sorted, packed and delivered July 29 to United Way agencies that serve families with school-aged children. Fans who would rather go to the store and buy $5 worth of school supplies and donate them at the door, will be admitted free, and the first 50 people through the doors get a free LIVE UNITED t-shirt.
The concert and the July 29 United Way Stuff the Bus Day of Action call attention to the fact that every dollar invested in early childhood education has a $17 dollar return in benefit to our community and to society, said United Way Volunteer Marty Slayton Jordan, who was instrumental in helping organize the launch concert. “That’s what United Way is all about—investing a dollar so the community gets a lot more than a dollar of value in return,” Jordan commented.
United Way initiatives like Read to Succeed and Family Resource Centers are helping to improve education opportunities at critical times in children’s lives. “What we do early in the lives of children helps increase graduation rates so that we avoid crime, drugs, teen pregnancies and a lot of other bad things that often lead to dead ends for young lives,” Jordan said.
Individuals who want to get involved in Day of Action: Stuff the Bus can do one of four things to show their support:
• Attend the concert tonight at The Listening Room Café
• Volunteer their time on Friday, July 29 to sort the supplies in the morning and deliver them in the afternoon
• Advocate on Facebook and other social media for the importance of education in Nashville
• Make a donation of school supplies or a cash contribution so United Way can buy school supplies for the July 29 Day of Action
Get more information, sign up or make a donation by visiting the United Way website at http://www.unitedwaynashville.org.
