Recognizing the importance of supporting youth and their communities, the Give Back Brands Foundation was an early supporter of Pencils of Promise. Like GBBF, Pencils of Promise recognizes the importance of supporting youth and their communities to enact change. Pencils of Promise aims to enable sustained growth by building schools that serve as the center of communities. When constructing schools, Pencils of Promise takes steps to prepare the community for their new school, including training teachers, partnering with community members to understand infrastructure needs, and creating a long-term relationship with the community to ensure continued success. This corroboration of physical and social construction enables Pencils of Promise to make a profound impact on the communities it enters.
When taking a donor trip to Guatemala in 2017, GBBF board member Noreen Dodge was able to see the powerful impact of Pencils of Promise first hand:
“My trip with the Pencils of Promise team on the ground in Guatemala was one of the most powerful and meaningful experiences in my lifetime. We are so fortunate to have the access to education, infrastructure and resources here in the United States. The work Pencils of Promise is doing to provide these fundamental resources to communities is life-changing for these children for generations to come. The exuberance and tears of joy that I witnessed the day of ribbon-cutting for a new school, a village learning that they were going to have a school built for their children for the first time was truly unforgettable. I am so proud that GBBF was able to support the work of Adam Braun and the Pencils of Promise organization.” – Noreen Dodge
As of 2021, Pencils of Promise has impacted over 210,000 students by conducting over 13,810 teacher training sessions and constructing over 570 schools.
Learn more about GBBF’s impact here.
