In March, while students were away at spring break, preparation work began at Wilmington Park Elementary School for a special Day of Service sponsored by Wedgewood Inc., an integrated network of real estate and residential rehabilitation companies located in Redondo Beach.

Following prep work, the Day of Service took place on March 31 and brought together 107 volunteers from Wedgewood to complete more than $40,000 of improvements at this deserving school. The scope of work was extensive, and included new landscaping and murals. Inside, the library and teachers’ lounge received significant renovations to better serve students and teachers. With new flooring, paint, shelving, and furniture, as well as new appliances in the teachers’ lounge, the community at Wilmington Park can now take additional pride in the spaces in which they learn and work. Special thanks to Main Street Management, Anderson Cabinets, and NuLook Flooring for their great work in helping with these much needed improvements.

“Outreach and volunteerism is a core part of our mission at Wedgewood,” said President and CEO Greg Geiser. “Our team continually looks for ways to give back and support our communities, and partnering with Sharefest allowed us to identify an area of need here at Wilmington Park Elementary. Together, we were able to improve the learning environment for everyone in the Wilmington Park community. For us the thank you happened at the end of the day when a student was leaving and turned to a friend and said, ‘Now we have the best school.’ I hope everyone in their community can share a little of that feeling.”

Each student was challenged to identify a civic concern, research its causes and potential remedies, and prepare an advocacy speech to inspire change. Students integrated research, mentor feedback, and peer review to develop their final Powerpoint presentation with a goal of delivering a powerful message of need and hope.

Wedgewood also hosted a shoe and book drive ahead of the service day, collecting 50 pairs of shoes and 500 books to give to the incredible students at this school. Students and teachers were moved by their generosity.

“What a wonderful experience and fantastic group of people,” said Wilmington Park Principal Adriana Nakano. “The time and effort put into these projects is absolutely amazing! The students were so excited and full of joy. It was such a fun day. Thank you so much!”

During the day’s events, music students from the school performed for volunteers during their lunch break. Additionally, local community leaders dropped by to view the work and thank Wedgewood for their commitment to improving lives through outreach, including Assemblyman David Hadley, Gabriela Medina, Field Deputy for Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino; Manny Lopez, L.A. Mayor’s Harbor Area Representative; and Lupe Lopez, Los Angeles Unified School District Director of Community Engagement for the Office of Dr. Vladovic, and Steve Napalitano, Senior Deputy to L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe.

“This project was a perfect example of what Sharefest is about—bringing organizations together to utilize our strengths and resources to give back to our community,” said Chad Mayer, Sharefest Executive Director. “We couldn’t have done it without Assemblyman David Hadley and Sharefest Board Member Joe McMahon III, who helped connect Sharefest and Wedgewood to make this project happen.”

View photos and watch a video recap of the Wedgewood day of service.