Darlington County Superintendent of Education Tim Newman and Duke Energy representative Mindy Taylor with students at Brockington Elementary Magnet School last Friday. Photo by Bobby Bryant
Students in the Darlington County School District (DCSD) will soon have an innovative way of picking up school supplies thanks to a grant from the Duke Energy Foundation.
The $14,700 grant will fund the “Crates and Carousels: Student Supplies Equal Student Success” program.
Duke Energy and DCSD announced the grant Friday at Brockington Elementary Magnet School in Darlington.
The program will allow DCSD to distribute crates filled with school supplies to schools across the district. Supply “carousels” will also be set up in the district’s media centers to provide a central location for students to grab supplies like paper, pencils and markers.
The program is designed to make school supplies available and easy to access, resulting in equitable classrooms and higher student self-esteem.
DCSD Superintendent Tim Newman thanked the Duke Energy Foundation for providing resources that will aid students. “Darlington County School District is excited to have Duke Energy partner with us and support our classrooms,” Newman said. “We typically receive school supplies at the beginning of the school year from our communities, and that is always greatly appreciated. As the school year continues on, a lot of our students need supplies. This grant will help us fill that need in a creative way.”
“Bright futures begin in the classroom, and every child deserves a fair chance at academic success,” said Mindy Taylor, government and community relations manager for Duke Energy. “Our hope is these funds will help these classrooms and students have a very successful school year.”
Marisa Johnson, DCSD’s coordinator for Arts and Innovative Programs, applied for the grant. The nearly $15,000 award is part of a $200,000 total funding investment by the Duke Energy Foundation for school districts across the state. The grants are part of an initiative focused on projects to help underserved communities thrive and prosper.
The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The foundation contributes more than $30 million annually in charitable gifts and is funded by Duke Energy shareholder dollars. In 2018, the company donated more than $2 million to nonprofit organizations in South Carolina.
