Washington Prime : Back-To-School Celebrations Honor Students and Teachers

Published: 2021-09-28 15:22:14 ET WPG

Washington Prime Group town centers start the new school year with events that support and excite the community

COLUMBUS, OH - September 27, 2021 - The back-to-school season is an exciting time for students, teachers and families each year. The promise of new experiences, learning fresh ideas and reconnecting with teachers and friends has exhilaration built right in. Regardless of whether students are reentering the classroom for in-person learning, continuing virtual classes or a hybrid of both, Washington Prime Group town centers across the country found ways to celebrate the fresh start of a new school year for dedicated teachers, students of all ages and families navigating costly supply lists, through more than 110 events.

Honoring Amazing Educators

Washington Prime Group town centers showed teachers appreciation through some educator-exclusive promotions and discounts at retail spaces. Town centers like Scottsdale Quarter® and Ashland Town Center's Teacher Appreciation Nights featured educator giveaways, snacks, sips, sweets, swag bags and deep discounts.

At Indian Mount Mall's Teacher Appreciation event, local educators enjoyed instructor-led canvas painting, tote bags with goodies from the town center's tenants and a complimentary dinner. Dozens of teachers gathered to recharge, connect with each other and boost their creativity before heading back to the classroom.

Back-To-School Bashes

School spirit started before the school year. Through the KidX Club®, students got to enjoy back-to-school parties with hands-on activities. Craft stations, selfie stations, face painting, chalk art, dance parties, giveaways and field day games were enjoyed at town centers across the country like Keauhou Shopping Center, Sunland Park Mall, WestShore Plaza and Ashland Town Center.

Mesa Mall partnered with Colorado Mesa University on a Mav Attack event to welcome students back to campus. The event included music, a photo booth, giveaways and free supplies. The local health department also was on-hand to administer COVID vaccines and boosters during the event.

Stuffing the Bus with Supplies

To help local students and teachers prepare for the upcoming year, town centers hosted school supply drives where guests were encouraged to drop off a variety of school supply items. These donations benefitted school districts within the community and eased the burden on families and educators who navigated costly school supply lists.

Some town centers received local media attention for the tremendous amount of supplies secured for children in need, like Paddock Mall who donated 3,000 backpacks to local students, and Pearlridge Center, who collected nearly 4,000 school supplies for students at local public schools.

Many town centers put their own custom community twist on this important initiative, including:

Additionally, town centers helped guests prepare for a new academic year by participating in Tax Free Weekends to ease costs during the back-to-school shopping season. Town centers like The Mall at Johnson City, Indian Mound Mall and Dayton Mall helped cut the cost of back-to-school expenses for clothing, school supplies and even computers.

Chalk It Up to School Spirit

Town centers like Scottsdale Quarter created interactive Chalk It Up walls for the community to share excitement about the school year. These messages ranged from their favorite school memory, words of encouragement for new students and their favorite parts about being in school.

Washington Prime Group's back-to-school events had an impact far beyond each individual town center, garnering more than 550 news and broadcast stories with an estimated reach of 630 million, according to Meltwater Media Intelligence. Content about the events generated 2.6 million impressions and hundreds of social media mentions, according to Fusion Alliance.

Above all, the robust roster of back-to-school celebrations brought communities together and started the new school year with excitement and anticipation for the year ahead.

About Washington Prime Group

Washington Prime Group Inc. is a retail REIT and a recognized leader in the ownership, management, acquisition and development of retail properties. The Company combines a national real estate portfolio with its expertise across the entire shopping center sector to increase cash flow through rigorous management of assets and provide new opportunities to retailers looking for growth throughout the U.S. Washington Prime Group® is a registered trademark of the Company. Learn more at www.washingtonprime.com.

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Disclaimer

Washington Prime Group Inc. published this content on 27 September 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 September 2021 19:21:04 UTC.