Carolina Panthers and The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation Host Pep Rally and Backpack Distribution for Elementary Students in Mullins, S.C., to Kick Off School Year 

 

Students receive backpacks filled with school supplies at Mullins Recreational Gymnasium

 

Event part of broader backpack and school supplies distribution that benefits 52,000 Title I elementary students in the two-state region

 

CHARLOTTE (August 15, 2025) –The Carolina Panthers and The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation hosted a high-spirited pep rally to kick off the school year at the Mullins Recreational Gymnasium with students from the Academy of Early Learning and North Mullins Primary School. The event is part of a broader backpack and school supplies distribution benefiting thousands of students in high-need communities across eight school districts in the Carolinas. The program is funded by The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation, the Carolina Panthers and the John M. Belk Endowment in partnership with Classroom Central, a Charlotte-based non-profit which is helping coordinate the multi-district distribution.

 

Xavier Legette, a native of Mullins, S.C., and the Panthers first round draft pick in 2024, attended North Mullins Primary School. His grandmother, Linda Owens-Neal, who is a former school board member for the Marion County School District Board of Trustees, was on site at the Panthers pep rally to spread back-to-school cheer and help distribute backpacks.

 

Last week, led by Nicole Tepper, representatives from The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation and Carolina Panthers joined over 700 volunteers at the Charlotte Convention Center for Classroom Central’s 4th Annual Backpack Build. This marked the largest backpack distribution and packing event in Classroom Central history, with volunteers filling thousands of backpacks with essential school supplies for students across the region. In total, Classroom Central will distribute over 52,000 backpacks with school supplies to help local students begin the school year with the resources needed to be successful. As previously announced, The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation and Carolina Panthers are playing a crucial role in this record-setting commitment, funding over 38,000 of those backpacks with school supplies – the largest backpack contribution Classroom Central has ever received. 

 

The eight school districts in the Carolinas that will benefit from the contribution include North Carolina districts Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, City of Kannapolis Schools, Gaston County Schools, Iredell-Statesville Schools, Union County Schools, plus South Carolina school districts Chester County Schools, Dillon County Schools, Fairfield County Schools, Lancaster County Schools and Marion County Schools.

 

About the Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers became the 29th National Football League franchise on October 26, 1993. The Panthers began play in the 1995 season, winning an expansion-team-record seven games. In 28 seasons, Carolina has won six division titles, including three consecutive NFC South division titles from 2013-15. The Panthers have played in 17 playoff games, winning two NFC Championships and appearing in Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl 50. David A. Tepper, the founder and president of global hedge fund Appaloosa Management, L.P. and a well-known philanthropist, is the owner of the Carolina Panthers. Truly representing both Carolinas, the Panthers play their home games at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., just miles from the North Carolina-South Carolina border. Serving the two-state region is a priority for the team. The Panthers work with over 3,800 community partners, non-profit agencies and schools in the Carolinas each year and are committed to positively impacting the region by providing philanthropic funding, resources and opportunities throughout the Carolinas.

 

About The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation

Established in 2020, The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation invests capital and expertise to address the most pressing issues of our time through innovative, effective, and nimble solutions with a special focus on community-based projects. While the organization supports a number of initiatives, its core focus areas are food insecurity, basic needs, education, and disaster relief. As its founders and namesakes, David and Nicole Tepper remain fervently committed to addressing societal ails and inequities, both on a national and local scale.

  

About Classroom Central

Classroom Central's mission is to foster equity in education by providing teachers and students with the free resources they need to succeed. We serve teachers and students in 300+ schools across six school districts. During the 2024–25 academic school year, Classroom Central distributed more than $11.9 million in free school supplies into the local community through our free programs for teachers: Free Store, Mobile Free Store, Curbside Pick-Up, and Teacher Launch Box deliveries. For more information about Classroom Central visit www.classroomcentral.org.