NSC Stadium Partners Provide Equipment, Improvements For Napier Elementary School

Ingram Charities, Nashville SC, CAA ICON and Mortenson | Messer JV (MMJV) have joined forces to provide a new soccer field, soccer team equipment, playground equipment, and gardening and landscape assistance to Napier Elementary School as part of their ongoing commitment to the community. The support for Napier Elementary is made possible through a partnership with PENCIL, Nashville’s premier organization linking community resources to Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).

“Our outdoor space received an amazing beautification upgrade due to the kindness and generosity from Ingram, Nashville SC, CAA ICON and MMJV,” says Napier Elementary School Principal, Dr. Watechia Lawless. “The improvements helped establish a park-like setting for us to share with the wider community. It also gave our students access to soccer, a sport that is not traditionally played by families that live in the Napier/Sudekum community.”

Lawless continues, “The students in the Promising Scholars program have already participated in a four-week soccer league that was facilitated by Nashville SC professional instructors and Napier faculty, and coached by members of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. This experience has been transformative for our students, allowing them another outlet to explore their gifts and talents, receive mentorship and support and widen the world of possibilities for all involved.”

Landscape improvements at Napier Elementary include painting permanent playground games like hopscotch, four square, and chess; repainting benches, signs, and the gazebo; and power washing the Napier Monument Wall. The work included creating a soccer field for the school, donating and installing soccer goals/football uprights, and providing support for Napier’s first-ever soccer team with Nashville SC youth kits and equipment.

“This event was the culmination of a lot of hard work by everyone at Napier Elementary School, PENCIL and BODYARMOR, alongside the Nashville SC Stadium construction partners,” says Ingram Industries Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Mary Cavarra. “It has been a privilege to work with the South Nashville community throughout the process of building the new stadium and through this project at Napier Elementary. Our hope is that the new soccer field and playground improvements will facilitate a love of play and recreation for Napier students and the entire neighborhood long into the future.”

“As the new Nashville SC Stadium takes shape, we are excited for South Nashville to become a hub for soccer, in the city and beyond,” says Nashville SC Senior Director of Community Engagement, Brandon Hill. “Providing support for the first-ever Napier Elementary School soccer team and field has been an incredibly rewarding project for our club and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the school to help students reach their full potential moving forward.”

At a back-to-school event on July 31, Nashville SC hosted its IMPACT Soccer program, a pop-up community program dedicated to providing children from underserved communities with access to soccer. In partnership with BODYARMOR, they also gifted 300 backpacks filled with school supplies to Napier Elementary School students and presented a check to Kickin’ It 615 from BODYARMOR’s Play It Forward Program at Kroger to provide 40 young athletes the opportunity to participate in a local soccer league.

Steven Boero