By Kayleigh Tompkins
For many children in New York city, school is an unwelcoming building in which the feeling of ownership and home is absent. The walls and their surroundings are usually void of color and life.
During the past decade, many non-profit groups have begun to take steps that would change the atmosphere of inner city schools. N.Y. Cares is a group that assigns thousands of volunteers for two days during the year to several elementary public schools.
This year, the University brought 20 representatives that were more than enthusiastic about making a difference in children’s lives. For eight hours on Oct. 21, members of Circle K, Newman Club, two campus ministers from the Catholic Campus Parish and a student from Dowling College helped paint three floors and a mural in the auditorium of Public School 20 in Staten Island.
“We had a lot of participation from students this year,” said Katie McEvoy, a campus minister. “There were good activities, students bonded and we had a lot of fun.”
The volunteers were lively throughout the event, but were even more passionate about the feeling of accomplishment.
“I decided to do N.Y. Cares because I love helping other people out,” Michael Micucci, one of the volunteers from the University’s chapter of Circle K, said. “There is no feeling better than knowing that you did something to help out your community.”
The building, while clean and well preserved after several decades of use, lacked charm and a certain cheeriness that would indicate that children belong there.
Student volunteers painted sketches that were drawn on every surface prior to Saturday’s event.
Each section of the building had a different theme. The cafeteria and gymnasium were painted with a sports theme. The first floor was painted with a garden theme. The upper floor was painted with a reading theme and included such literary figures as Mother Goose and the Cat in the Hat. The centerpiece of the building, the auditorium, now boasts a mural that shows all of the attributes of the school. It flaunts multicultural students, sports, learning and skyscrapers.
“Everyone was motivated to make this school a better place for the teachers, administrators and especially the little children,” Micucci said. Throughout the long day of painting, the focus was always kept on the students of P.S. 20. He added that the only thing missing from the feeling of such accomplishment was the lack of children watching their school transform into a magical place.
“It was an amazing experience,” Miriam Goldman said. “We all wished we could have seen the faces of the kids.”
