Student Intern- William Goodale
Student Intern:
William Goodale
William is a senior at Pleasantville High School.
As Will interns for us this winter/spring, he will be learning about the ins and outs of non-profit work and exploring what kinds of paths his own skills and gifts can lead him on. Will has been a volunteer with PvilleYI since we started, and we are so excited to welcome him to serve in this new way.
Will is participating in the Trojans at Work program at PHS. This program allows students, while attending high school, to gain valuable real world working experience while earning high school credit. We are proud to partner with PHS in this way.
Look for Will’s contributions this year!
PvilleYI Welcomes First Student Intern: Addie Koenig
STUDENT INTERN- Addie Koenig
Join us in welcoming our Trojans at Work High School Intern, Addie Koenig! Addie is a senior at Pleasantville High School and is participating in the Trojans at Work program at PHS. This program allows students, while attending high school, to gain valuable real world working experience while earning high school credit. Addie will be spending her time learning the ins and outs of running a non-profit, helping organize and plan events, and carrying out other duties as assigned (aka, getting Emily coffee ).
Look for Addie’s contributions this Fall in our events and more!
PvilleYI Provides Hospitality At Community Worship Night
On August 20th, PvilleYI provided hospitality at a Community Worship Night organized by our dear friend and volunteer, Olivia Anthony. Liv had a vision to bring the community together for a night of prayer and song. We helped her organize and promote her event, and we were honored to offer hospitality as well.
It was a BEAUTIFUL time of worship! Thank you to Olivia Anthony for organizing this event and sharing your gift. A special thanks to Matt Van Sant, Mike and Ben Fust, Gabriel Claussen, Jeremy Cole, Nicolas and Danielle Lirio, Caleb Van Sant, and Kodis Rawlings for their musical and technical talents as well. Thanks to Brenda Goodale and Troy "Boova" for sharing their hearts and prayers. And a huge thank you to our PvilleYI volunteers for providing hospitality and serving those in attendance. PLUS a big THANKS to the Webb Shadle Public Library for use of the property and their incredible smart screen!
Photos were taken by Jennie Koenig and Lane Clark
Summer Meals 2025 Concludes
Teen and kid volunteers stand with Mr. Jim Breese, our KFYI delivery man and dear friend!
In Summer 2025, PvilleYI distributed meals once again with the help of Knoxville Youth Food Initiative and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. We served thousands of meals (official number coming soon) and met the needs of kids and teens in our community. We are so grateful for our volunteers and our partners. And we are also happy that families feel so welcome to come and participate in the program!
Carol, Linda, and Barb show off a floral arrangement thank you gift from PvilleYI. We love our ladies!
Summer MEal Program 2025 Begins
Beginning on June 2, 2025: we began to distribute meals to teens and kids in Pleasatnville. We are able to do this thanks to our partnership with Knoxville Food Youth Initiative (KFYI) and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. KFYI provides the food and runs the program. St. Paul’s UMC gives us a location to distribute those meals from, as well as volunteering to help distribute. Our PvilleYI volunteer team helps unload, fill bags, tie them, and distribute the meals every Monday Wednesday and Friday. Each bag contains 2 (M,W) or 3 (F) days worth of breakfast and lunch.
Our first week of meal distribution brought us a lot of joy. Not only did we get to see so many smiling faces, but we got to enjoy the St. Paul’s UMC tulip tree which was in full bloom!
We will continue to serve meals every MWF until August 1st.
For more information about the program, you can go here.
This work is made possible by our partnership with Knoxville Food Youth Initiative and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.
Middle School Back to School Night
On August 22nd, 2024, PvilleYI partnered with Pleasantville Middle School to host a welcome back to school event during their back to school night.
We provided refreshments, resources, and gifts for incoming 7th and 8th graders.
Resources included tips on parenting middle schoolers, information on developmental stages, information about local organizations and opportunities, and more.
We also brought in a display of our recommended products for students of this age, based on feedback from families and our own experiences raising teens! (We get no incentive to do this)
Each student received a welcome back from us full of fun items we know middle schoolers love!
We had a great time partnering with the school and welcoming students back to a new year, and we were honored to help ease parents into a new chapter of parenthood as well.
PvilleYI hosts poverty conference in pleasantville
June 5, 2024:
In June 2023, PvilleYI Co-Founders Jennie Koenig and Emily Caulkins attended a Marion County Poverty Conference hosted by The Well, an organization in Marion County that serves those in need. The conference provided PvilleYI with a unique perspective that helped as we served our community members in Pleasantville.
Pleasantville's poverty level is 5% over the state level. In the last 20 years Pleasantville's poverty rate has more than doubled from 7% to 16%. And as of 2020, 25% of those under the poverty level were 6 years of age or younger.
With these statistics in mind, we worked with The Well to bring a Poverty Conference to Pleasantville. We invited leaders from our school, city, churches, and organizations to attend.
On June 5th 2024, our team hosted the Marion County Poverty Conference at Pleasantville’s High School Library. The conference was well-attended with representatives from nearly every church, organization, and leadership team in our community.
Jayson Henry, Well CEO, led the conference. PvilleYI provided a lunch for participants catered by Halftime Bar and Grill.
This conference is part of our effort to make Pleasantville a compassionate and welcoming community for people of all demographics. Thank you to everyone who attended and all those who helped make this possible!
Resources that were passed out at the event were:
A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D
Trick or Treat on the Square 2023
We had a GREAT night at our Trick or Treat on the Square 2023! It was a COLD night, but we had a record turnout none the less. This could be in part to the Chick-fil-a food truck! They joined us for the night and families had a great time trick-or-treating and grabbing a bite to eat as well. In fact, Chick-Fil-A had to send for MORE food. How about that!
Thanks to the organizations and businesses who came out to give the kiddos treats!
American Legion Women’s Auxiliary
Bill Harvey Construction
Boy Scouts
Brandi Booth
Checkerboard
Christ Family Church
City of Pleasantville
Crush Nutrition
D&D Auto Body
Dollar General
Fairview Christian Church
Friends of the Library
Marion County Express
Masons
Peoples Bank
Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce
Pleasantville Christian Church
Smokey Row
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Unleashed Pet Boarding
Za-Ga-Zig Shriners
Pool Party in Carlisle 2023
We had a BLAST swimming at the Carlisle pool! Middle School and High School students were invited for a free night of swimming. Everyone had a great time!
FCA Worship Night
We were so excited to help at the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) worship night at Pleasantville Christian Church. We were able to bring cookies donated by Subway as well as drinks to offer as refreshments following the service.
Originally the event was intended to be an outdoor service behind the library. When heavy rain threatened to cancel the event, Pleasantville Christian Church stepped up to open their doors to the teens who had organized the event.
It was a beautiful night of worship!
