Mack Family Foundation Coach Mack's Corner | Nonprofit Video Production Louisville

Coach Mack's Corner is just a corner in a room in a building — and it changes the whole building. Produced for the Mack Family Foundation, this film tells the story of a reading corner program at Lincoln Elementary, where nearly two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch and early literacy can change the trajectory of a life.

We gathered educators and district voices to show how one community partnership bridges the opportunity gap: books, role models students admire, and a small space whose impact spreads through every hallway. A nonprofit story told at the scale where it actually happens — one corner, one school, one kid at a time.

About This Project
Client: Mack Family Foundation
Type: Nonprofit Program Film, Education Storytelling
Location: Louisville, KY
Services: Nonprofit storytelling, educator interviews, school filming, editing

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Video Transcript:

There is no doubt that we have students that face a lot of struggles in their life. Nearly two-thirds of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. If an elementary student falls behind K through 3, the research is clear: their odds of dropping out, not graduating, not going to college, being unsuccessful, and actually being in the criminal justice system dramatically increase. And so that's why it's so important that we get students the books, the supplies, the things that they need, the interventions that they need to be successful at a very early age — and we continue to provide those, especially through elementary school.

We are a school that has a high population of children who receive free and reduced-price lunches. So that is an indicator to us that our children have that barrier of poverty. Yes, our children face challenges — but our children also overcome challenges, and we're proud of that. And the reason that they're able to overcome is because, yes, of what's happening boots-on-the-ground here, but we couldn't do it without our partners. We couldn't do this work without, one, knowing that people in our community care about us and our kids, and also the resources that our community friends and our partners provide for us. And that's what this does. That's what Coach Mac's Corner does for our kids.

Whether it's food insecurities or literacy issues or just some home issues, our job here at Lincoln and through the district is to help and support them through many different avenues. It really does take a village to help every student in the building. It's not always the schools — we need support services outside of that. And so when a community comes in, or an individual comes in and says, "I want to help," it makes the biggest impact, because the students see that there are others that care about them and want them to be successful.

Seeing a celebrity or someone that they admire opening up and talking about the books they love gave them a curiosity and a wonderment of what books they could find and really love. Coach Mac's Corner is just a corner in a room in a building, but it permeates throughout the whole building. This small little space actually has a big impact throughout the whole building, because our students are taking those books and spreading them out throughout the building, talking and having conversations. And it all stems from that one little piece right there in the corner.

When a community reaches out and wraps their arms around our kids, and we all work for the same goal, we can be successful. Programs like Coach Mac's Corner from the Mack Family Foundation are a great example of the way community organizations are stepping up to ensure that students have what they need — and we really bridge that opportunity gap. And so it's critical that we fund these foundations and these organizations that work closely with public education to ensure that all of our kids have great educational opportunities. We know that this work does not live in a capsule — that it grows, and that our children are going to benefit, and our community will benefit, because of this work.