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Cityview Students pause for a
photo while working in the community gardens.
Behind them, a team of volunteers from Best Buy
plant new landscaping.
A First-Rate
Community Project
We knew the Cityview
School Renovation project was going to be big.
As of Wednesday, July 11th (one day before the
project), we had just about 200 volunteers
registered to participate. But much to our
surprise (and delight), by the end of the day on
Thursday well over 350 volunteers had
taken part in this amazing day of service.
Cityview students, parents, their neighbors just
down the street, interns and full-time employees
from local companies, retirees, even a group
from a summer day camp in Edina - the
groundswell of support from the McKinley
neighborhood to the outer Metro Area made this
one of our most successful (and fun) volunteer
projects ever!
Before...
After!
What did we
accomplish?
- Landscaping!
Volunteers from The Toro Company tilled the
soil with Dingos early in the morning,
before any other volunteers had even
arrived. Then, following plans drawn
up by Master Gardener Julie Weisehorn,
volunteers planted bushes, flowers, and
shrubs at the parking lot entrance, the 4th
street side yard, and the yard between the
community gardens and the cafeteria.
After the planting was done, volunteers
spread mulch with the help of Cityview
Summer School students.
- Planter Benches!
To provide outdoor seating where once there
was none and beautify the grounds,
our volunteers built 5 huge planter benches
- benches with space to plant flowers built
into the sides. These benches were
built on the spot using just cut lumber,
drills, and nails. Several of these
benches were built by Cityview Summer School
students under the direction of volunteer
leaders with carpentry experience and a
knack for putting enthusiastic kids to work.
Thanks to their efforts, most of these
benches were complete before noon!
Before...
- Community Garden
Clean-up! Several plots in Cityview's
Community Garden had been lying unused, and
were choked with weeds. Volunteers and
summer school students pitched in to weed
these plots and get them ready for planting.
In the afternoon, our volunteers were joined
by community members from the McKinley
neighborhood who heard about the project and
stopped by to lend a hand! To help
local gardeners maintain their plots, a
community tool shed was built by volunteers
from an Edina Day Camp (under the direction
of a retired engineer from Westinghouse).
After!
- Outdoor Performance
Stage! Over the course of three days
(Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday), a
volunteer team from The Home Depot built an
outdoor theatre behind the cafeteria.
They mixed their concrete, cut the lumber,
and did all of the assembly work on-site.
Toro volunteers till the soil with their
Dingos.
Luckily, we had a good supply of artistic
volunteers.
-
Exterior Murals!
Volunteers from PriceWaterhouse Coopers,
community members, and students stenciled
and painted a gigantic world map on the
concrete before the entrance to the
playground. They also painted
AlphaGators, touched up the lines on the
basketball court, and spread fresh mulch on
the playground.
Hands On Twin Cities will
continue to offer large service projects where
volunteer groups of all sizes will be welcome to
come join others from the community.
Make a difference, meet other community-minded
Twin Cities residents, and have fun all at the
same time!
Want to stay up-to-date on
our latest volunteer projects?
Sign up for our Enewsletter, or just keep
checking our website,
www.handsontwincities.org.
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Many thanks to ...
- Melanie Sanco and Hedy
Lamar Walls, who were instrumental in writing
the project grant and proposal, transforming a
great idea into action.
- Diane Hofstede
(Minneapolis City Council), Minneapolis Public
Schools, and the McKinley Neighborhood
Association, whose efforts at "spreading the
word" led to the groundswell of support that
made this project possible.
- Laura Cavendar, Principal
of Cityview, and Cityview School faculty and
staff, who go many extra miles (and extra hours)
to make their school a pillar of the McKinley
neighborhood.
- Terry Straub and the
Hennepin County Master Gardeners, who designed
and supervised multiple landscaping projects.
- Team Home Depot, who
turned their little corner of Cityview into a
3-day project because they won't give any less
than 110%.
- Bachman's, Home Depot,
and Toro for crucial project supplies.
- Papa's Pizza & Pasta for
crucial volunteer fuel.
The Cityview School
Restoration was a Metro Area effort, bringing
together volunteers from Corporations, Schools,
Nonprofits, and community members:
- The Home Depot
- The Toro Company
- Best Buy
- PriceWaterhouse Coopers
- The University of St.
Thomas
- North Hennepin Community
College
- Beacons Summer Program at
Cityview
- Folwell Middle School
Community Education Program
- ACES (Athletes Committed
to Educating Students)
- The McKinley Neighborhood
Association
- Neighborhood Involvement
Program (NIP)
- and many more!
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The
Cityview School Renovation!
