Wyoming — When Heather Lobbezoo was looking for a volunteer opportunity for the company she works for, she reached out to her sister, Kim Swiger, a retired teacher at Gladiola Elementary.
She asked, could staff from Symplr, a healthcare operations software company with headquarters in Houston, Texas, and remote workers across the country, spend a day of service at Gladiola?
The answer was “yes” and the sisters put together a crew of 16 from Michigan and other areas. They painted paw prints and stenciled the word “Wolves” outside school entrances. They also organized the school’s massive community closet, folding clothes and sorting through books and other donated items that serve as resources for families.
‘This building means so much to me and I’m so pleased to be able to give back to it and to this community.’
— retired teacher Kim Swiger
“I wanted to think of a way we could reach out to people who really are in need, but aren’t always in the spotlight and don’t always have the opportunity to have people assist them,” Lobbezoo said.
Lobbezoo and Swiger, whose father, Jerry Swiger, retired from teaching from the former Wyoming Rogers High School, attended Gladiola themselves during their elementary years.
“We grew up right down the street. You can see our house from here,” Swiger said. “We are pretty connected to this school district and this particular school.”
“It’s been fun to come back,” said Lobbezoo. “We’ve been walking through the building and saying, ‘There’s my second-grade classroom! That’s where I went to kindergarten!’”
It was an emotional experience for Swiger, who taught second- through fifth-grade at Gladiola.
“This building means so much to me and I’m so pleased to be able to give back to it and to this community,” she said.
The volunteer event also included a financial contribution. Christina Pittinato, learning development specialist for Symplr, donated $1,000 to Gladiola through her own non-profit, Pay It Forward Community Foundation.
Principal Dana Stein said the support is much appreciated.
“It’s amazing. It’s wonderful… It helps us get to a level where we can be ready for school,” she said. “It really boils down to community, people supporting people and helping each other out.”
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