Carolina Panthers host pep rally at St. Matthews K8 School

ST. MATTHEWS, SC (WOLO) — The Carolina Panthers held an “Encouragement Pep Rally” at St. Matthews K8 School — highlighting reading, healthy eating, and making sure students have the school supplies they need.

In partnership with the David and Nicole Tepper Foundation and the John M. Belk Endowment, the supplies distribution program that was started by the Carolina Panthers in 2018 and benefits 25,000 students in high needs communities across six school districts in the Carolinas.

After Tuesday’s pep rally, students received a backpack filled with school supplies.

“The primary goal here today was to really equip students with the essential tools they need everyday to be successful in the classroom. So the backpack and school supplies distribution is a part of that but it’s deeper than that. It’s giving them what they need. The pencils, the papers, the notebooks, all of that. But it’s also about instilling confidence and giving them the confidence when they come to the classroom that they know they’re ready to succeed,” says Riley Fields, Director of Community Relations for the Carolina Panthers.

Not only did the kids get a special visit from educational leaders like South Carolina Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver, and Calhoun County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ferlando Tullock, they got to hang out with Carolina Panthers’ mascot Sir Purr” and “the best principal ever.”

“Our theme for this year is building a foundation of academic success. And with the tools that were provided to our students today, that will just continue to help us lay that foundation and lay that groundwork. So we’re looking forward to the awesome opportunities this will provide to our students as well as our parents,” says Dr. Melissa Peeples, Principal of St. Matthews K8 School.

Dr. Peeples says she expects high energy from the students for the rest of the day.

“The students are just overjoyed with what’s happened here today. And I know when they return to their classrooms and receive their tools which is their backpack filled with school supplies, the energy is going to continue to burst and overwhelm throughout the remainder of the school day, so I’m just looking for my halls to be filled with excitement for the remainder of the day,” Peeples says.

Sir Purr and the Carolina Panthers would like to encourage kids to read at least 20 minutes every day.