More than 40 volunteers from Newell Rubbermaid and HandsOn Suburban Chicago arrived at Kingsley School in Downers Grove Grade School District 58 this morning, Wednesday, Sept. 2, for Newell Rubbermaid’s annual Global Day of Service event. The volunteers dedicated their day to making significant aesthetic improvements to Kingsley, including constructing an outdoor classroom, painting maps and other visuals on the blacktop, and landscaping the grounds.
“Thank you everyone for coming out here today. Thank you for giving of your time and your talents. It will make a huge difference!” said Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli. “The entire Kingsley community is overjoyed by the generosity of Newell Rubbermaid and HandsOn Suburban Chicago,” added Kingsley Principal Mark A. Stange.
The event kicked off with an opening ceremony at 9 a.m., led by Superintendent Cremascoli, Principal Stange, Kingsley PTA President Gail Scherquist, PTA Playground Committee Member Kim Breier and HandsOn Suburban Chicago Event Leader Mhari Goldstein.
“We wanted Kingsley’s outside to reflect what Kingsley feels and looks like on the inside,” Breier said. “Mr. Stange is doing a remarkable job inside the walls of Kingsley, and now we’re jumping in on the outside. We set a plan into motion, and I want you to know that your seven hours here today would have taken our PTA a year minimum to accomplish.”
Local service organization HandsOn Suburban Chicago coordinated this morning’s event, providing the volunteers with very specific tasks to complete. Thanks to their keen organization, the volunteer team, all local Newell Rubbermaid employees, is expected to complete an impressive variety of work today.
During a walking tour of the grounds, Goldstein pointed to a mass of weeds saying, “We’re going to get all of the weeds out from this area over here and rake out all the old mulch and lay out beautiful, bright red mulch. It should really make the school pop, especially because you have this beautiful red brick and the white brick up front. It will look really fresh and new.”
Goldstein also said that the volunteers will paint U.S. and world maps on the blacktop, as well as add fresh hopscotch and four square lines. They’re also painting alphabet letters and numbers, as well as adding bright yellow lines to help up with lineup time at school.
“We’re also making a couple of murals on small signs to hang on the corner to really show Kingsley’s school pride,” Goldstein said. “We hope these enhancements will reiterate the learning environment at every opportunity.”
This is Newell Rubbermaid’s third annual Global Day of Service. When considering local sites, Newell Rubbermaid noted Kingsley’s tight-knit community feel, strong family emphasis and desire to improve their school’s aesthetics.
Newell Rubbermaid has always been committed to improving consumers’ lives in the communities it serves. Investing in the community is a key part of fulfilling the company’s mission to help people thrive daily where they live, learn, work and play.
This year, approximately 3,500 Newell Rubbermaid employees will volunteer at 105 volunteer sites in 23 countries worldwide.