Statements
Mission
Our mission is to support school staff in the Franklin Special School District and the schools of Williamson County as they work to ensure that all students enter the classroom ready to learn and succeed by achieving their individual potential.
Background
The NOOK is a resource center started by parents in the Franklin Special School District to provide new clothing essentials (things like coats, shoes, socks, underwear, shirts, pants, basic hygiene and feminine hygiene) to students in the district on demand at the request of a school's nurse, counselor or social worker.
Impact
Since inception, the NOOK organized and obtained 501(c)(3) status, trained a yearly team of 25 'Volunteers on Call' and established programs to serve in all FSSD schools and select high need Williamson County schools. In the past year NOOK has extended services to include Williamson County Boys & Girls Club, Franktown, and the Williamson County Alternative Learning Center. In the past year, NOOK distributed over 2500 pairs of socks, 1500 pairs of underwear, 100 pairs of shoes, 480 pairs of pants, 330 shirts, 65 emergency fuel cards, 750 boxes of feminine hygiene, awarded over $1200 to meet student needs in the Hope Grant program, and developed the NOOK Hope Scholarship program awarding 5 graduating seniors a total $12,500.
Needs
Our most pressing needs are donations of cash and feminine hygiene. Because our work is very individualized, our Volunteers on Call generally have to purchase on demand to obtain the right sizes of shoes and clothing needed by a child as they are requested their school's social worker, counselor or nurse.
CEO Statement
The development of the NOOK has been an extraordinary community effort - a partnership of parents, community leaders, schools and the amazing teachers, nurses, social workers and counselors that work to ensure our children succeed in school. Our mission is narrow and highly focused. We partner with our schools to eliminate barriers to education for kids in crisis by empowering school staff with what they need to immediately respond - quelling the chaos for the teacher, the child and the whole of the classroom so that everyone can stay focused on the important task of education. At this time, our volunteers on call will deliver new essentials (coats, shoes, socks, underwear, shirts, pants, basic hygiene items and feminine hygiene) for the child, as well as gas money or food for the family. Our partner, One Generation Away (www.onegenaway.com) provides the food we deliver and we are also utilizing the program, OneSight, to provide eyeglasses to children who need them and don't have any other option.
Board Chair Statement
In the past 6 years since our inception (as of the close of the 2023-2024 school year, the NOOK as delivered to the schools of Franklin Special School District and Williamson County, $196,000 in Clothing & Hygiene Essentials & Gas Cards. $10,000 in grants for extracurricular needs, $33,000 in trade and college scholarships. 9,000 pounds of food to families through our partner www.onegenaway.com and 100 pairs of glasses to students through our partner OneSight. We are so grateful to the community for this support! As always, we are 100% led by volunteers, so 99% of the gifts we receive go directly to essentials for our kids. We always say, a school delivery of a new set of clothes, a pair of gym shoes and socks, or underwear and pants for a kindergartner that has an accident and doesn't have a back-up all seem like little things.... but we believe that for the child at school without the items in that NOOK delivery bag, these are not little things at all.
Service Categories |
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Primary Category: | Education - Student Services |
Secondary Category: | Human Services - Emergency Assistance (Food, Clothing, Cash) |
Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
Currently, the NOOK serves all of the schools of the Franklin Special School District, as well as select high-need schools in Williamson County.
TN - Williamson |