Volunteers gathered on Friday March 30th at USC’s early education center School for Early Childhood Education (SECE) to revamp the school while students were away on Spring Break. The Home Depot Foundation partnered with USC to paint, build, and reimagine the center which has been offering free education and child care to low income students and families in the area since 1985.
Parents, student volunteers, and Home Depot employees gathered to revitalize three playgrounds, a life-size playhouse, and yards of each of the six classrooms.
California Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price stopped by to thank volunteers and recognized Siobhan Harden, the project lead and store manager of the Ladera Heights store.
“I’m proud of my colleagues for using their day off to give back to the community and excited to partner with USC for this event”, said Harden who highlighted the spirit of giving back amongst her teammates was born out of the mission of the Home Depot Foundation – Commitment to the Community.
After a morning of painting, building, cleaning, and community engagement, the volunteers left students with an upgraded learning facility and donated all of the extra supplies to SECE. Students will be able to come back to school after Spring Break to find new bird feeders, planters, benches, and a newly renovated play house that will hopefully encourage them to play, learn, and discover more than ever.
“The teachers and children will be very surprised when they come to school on Monday. We’ve kept this a secret and can’t wait to see their beaming faces when they arrive,” said Theda Douglas, Associate Senior Vice President for Government Partnerships and Programs.
