Nooga Pixels Awards Inaugural ‘Project 2025’ Web Grant to Champion of Literacy in Chattanooga
Chattanooga, TN—February 11, 2025
Nooga Pixels, a full-service creative design agency based in Chattanooga, is proud to announce the first recipient of its Project 2025: webgrants for Good initiative. The inaugural grant has been awarded to Mandy McAllister and the Educational Cooperative of Chattanooga, recognizing their commitment to literacy and educational equity.
Mandy, a professional tutor for over 20 years, has dedicated her career to ensuring literacy is accessible to everyone—often offering her services free of charge. She firmly believes that every individual has the right to read, think critically, and access information. In addition to private tutoring, her organization provides free publishing services to support writers in sharing their personal narratives.
“In a world where access to literacy and education should be a given, Mandy is making sure it actually is,” said Joshua Perez, entrepreneur, author, and founder of Nooga Pixels. “Her commitment to educational equity embodies the spirit of our Project 2025 initiative. At a time when major corporations like Target and Google and state and federal legislators prioritize wealth over the well-being of our communities, we need more people like Mandy stepping up to make a real difference.”
Perez, a former Tennessee pastor, emphasized the urgency of grassroots efforts in the face of current political and economic disparities.
“I’m indignant right now about the way our state and federal governments are prioritizing the wealthy. State legislators like local republican Bo Watson just made lowering the cost of private school the top priority of one of the poorest states in the country. Governor Lee even shamefully prioritized the school voucher scam over Hurricane Helene relief for those impacted last September in East Tennessee. Who in this state is looking to enroll their kids in Baylor right now with costs this high? Eggs are $9. Gas is going up again. Baylor tuition is over $30k a year, so after that silly little $7k voucher, I’d still need to come up with $23k a year per child. Or they can continue going to Walker Valley with my tax dollars and it’s like I literally saved 23 thousand dollars a year in my budget. If we’ve got $430 Million for schools, why isn’t that tax money going to the public schools of Tennessee already?”
“Most Tennesseans don’t even live near a private school. But that was their priority last month? My bible says to, ‘Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.’ As someone who grew up in foster care, this verse has always resonated a lot with me. If our leaders won’t fight for the vulnerable, it’s up to us to step up and take action.”
With the support of this grant, Mandy aims to establish a nonprofit that provides vital resources for families and individuals, expanding access to literacy education and advocacy.
There are still 11 Webgrants for Good available for 2025. Community members are encouraged to nominate individuals or organizations making a positive impact in Tennessee. To submit a nomination, visit noogapixels.com/nominate.
