Recently, parents of kids at The Villages Charter School banded together to clean up the school’s grounds.
More than 100 parents attended Buffalo PRIDE’s Stewardship Saturday at VCS.
Stewardship Saturday is a yearly event hosted by janitorial staff and Buffalo PRIDE officials in which parents volunteer to assist beautify the VCS campuses for a morning.
Buffalo PRIDE is a group of VCS parents that volunteer and participate in charitable events throughout the school year.
Erin Natalino, president of Buffalo PRIDE, and other PRIDE executives were guiding parents in front of The Villages High School.
Natalino, a former participant, discussed the significance of the event for the school and parents.
“Stewardship is one of the core values at The Villages Charter School,” Natalino said. “This event puts that core value into action. Parents come out to help clean the school campus.”
Around 125 people signed up to help at VCS’s different campuses.
“We had to divide them up,” Natalino said. “Just sharing the love across all the schools.”
Cleaning wipes, cleaning fluid in spray bottles and other cleaning supplies were given to each volunteer.
“There (were) various tasks assigned at each school, from cleaning tables, desks and chairs to wiping down stairwells and polishing the brass,” Natalino said.
Parents came on campus for a couple of hours. Courtney Gage, Vice President of Buffalo PRIDE, attended the event with her fellow officials.
“It offers a wonderful opportunity to serve our schools,” Gage said. “And leads a good example for our students.”
While helping at The Villages High School recently, the Bucell family scrubbed many classrooms.
Michael, a 6th student at The Villages Charter Middle School, and Ashley, a 4th grader at The Villages Charter Elementary School, were brought by Natalia and Ron Bucell.
Ron hoped his children learned something from the experience.
“It fosters good work ethics,” Ron said.
“It teaches them about helping the community,” Natalia added.
The entire family worked together to clean tables, chairs and desks.
“It’s being a part of the school — not just attending it,” Natalia said.
Lauren Beller also invited her daughter, Danica, a kindergartner to The Villager Charter Elementary School’s Primary Center.
“It’s just showing them there’s more to the school than attending,” Lauren said. “And to leave not all the work for the janitors.”