A fellow alumnus of the Red Lion Area School District, 4PENS CEO, Dominic, was eager to help the early development of students in his hometown area. As a child, Dom always had his favorite pens, and he remembers the fuzzy pencil topper twirler he loved—made right here in Hanover. That memory, tied to his school days, made this opportunity to give back even more special.

It all started with a call from Mrs. Jenifer Moore, the reading specialist at North Hopewell-Winterstown Elementary, inquiring about a discount on some pens for the upcoming Red Lion Reads initiative that she was rolling out in early March. Our 4PENS 4KIDS program was already donating pencils to early development schools, but this request was for a ‘prop’ or supplement to the upcoming book that was to be distributed and read by the entire elementary school district, some 3,000 students!

“It was great to see the pens being imprinted in our York, PA-based factory with the signature Yellow and Black color. Go Lions!” Dominic commented when asked about the initiative. “We don’t normally give away pens for FREE, but this seemed in line with our mission. IMPACT and giving back are core to 4PENS. It feels good to do a small thing for my past school.”

The donated Cambria pens, yellow in color, were imprinted with ‘RED LION READS’ and should be in the hands of the many students soon. Upon dropping the pens off, Dominic discovered that Mrs. Moore, a teacher of twenty-five years, had previously taught at the now-closed Edgar C. Moore Elementary School, where Dominic had been educated. Both Dominic and Mrs. Moore knew many of the teachers who influenced his development.

Dominic could still recall many memories of his elementary school teachers, including but not limited to: the piano playing and Christmas play of his kindergarten teacher, the late Gladys Slenker; his childhood infatuation with his first-grade teacher, Mrs. Keeports; the firm but effective mannerisms of Mrs. Kohlbus (2nd grade) and Mrs. Shaffer (3rd grade); receiving an academic award in front of the entire school assembly in fourth grade from his teacher, Mrs. Runkle; and finally maturing from a sweatpants-wearing, recess-tussling kid into a skinny Junior High boy during his academically pressing years of 5th grade with Mrs. Free and 6th grade with Mrs. Atkinson. He also remembers always having his favorite pencils on hand, whether it was a classic yellow No. 2 or a sparkly, decorative pencil with a fun design. One of his most vivid memories was twirling a fuzzy pencil topper on the end of his pencil during class—an iconic little item that, fittingly, was made right in Hanover, Pa.

Dominic commented, “I was a good student but probably a bit to handle in school; I caught on to concepts quickly in class, which gave me some free time to cause some harmless trouble. All my teachers were great!”

As the son of two teachers, one of whom taught at Red Lion Area High School, Dominic and 4PENS are excited to play a small part in supporting the development of future leaders in his community.