Free school supply store reopens

The LP PENCIL Box will soon be back in business for the upcoming school year.

An initiative of the Nashville PENCIL Foundation in collaboration with LP Building Products, the PENCIL Box collects donations from the community to make school supplies available to Metro students and teachers.

The PENCIL Box has distributed more than $1 million worth of supplies to 100,000 students since opening in 2005, according to the PENCIL Foundation. Just last year, 35,000 kids received supplies through the program, according to the PENCIL Foundation’s Nikki Troutman.

The PENCIL Box reopens Tuesday for the upcoming school year. Troutman said donations — pencils, crayons, rulers, and other supplies — are still being accepted.

“We’re really looking for the basics this year,” Troutman said.

Donations can be left at businesses including the Rainforest Café and Davidson County Starbucks locations, or taken directly to the PENCIL Box. The best time for donations is between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, but appointments can be made for other dropoff times as well.

The PENCIL Box is located at the McCann Alternative Center, 1300 56th Ave. N. For more information — including information for teachers about making shopping appointments, and more details for donors — can be found by calling 242-3167 or by visiting pencilfoundation.org.