Article written by Foundation/John W. Henry BCE corps member Katie Venetsky

To know that we, as the Foundation’s Boston Civic Engagement Team and City Year, made such a large impact in this school is something I will never forget

Walking down the halls of the Marshall Elementary School the morning of our service day on Saturday, February 19^th, it was unreal to me that we were about to re-paint the halls of this entire school, re-surface eight classroom chalkboards and paint a total of eight murals. The transformation was going to not only be one of the largest we’d done this year on the Boston Civic Engagement Team but also the most exciting for me because my teammate Ashley Wakefield and I had planned all of the projects for the entire day. With a student population of more than 700 students, the Marshall is one of Boston’s largest elementary schools. In a neighborhood that has been rocked by recent violence, the school had become, in a sense, a forgotten giant in the heart of Dorchester.

For the Foundation’s Boston Civic Engagement Team, this school has become a growing ripple among three generations of corps members. Our Program Manager, Mollie Puskar, did service there during her corps year three years ago. BCE’s current Team Leader, Emily Ostroff, did service there during her corps year last year. This year, it was my team’s time. We were given unprecedented access to painting the school’s walls and our job on this day was to bring life to a building that hadn’t been painted in over fifteen years.

The day itself was a huge success! Organizations like Harvard GIVES, Showa, Greek organizations from Boston University and Northeastern came out to support City Year as well as students from the Burke High School right down the street from the Marshall. Energy was high as murals were being painted in the stairwells, quotes about peace and the school’s colors were painted on the hallway walls.

Walking through the halls with Principal Teresa Harvey-Jackson after the service day the look on her face was that of awe and appreciation. She couldn’t believe how much work was completed in one day and how excited she was for the students to come back after their February break and see the work that had been done, especially in the stairwells.  To know that we, as the Foundation’s Boston Civic Engagement Team and City Year, made such a large impact in this school is something I will never forget. This service day, for me, showed not only the power of volunteerism but also the importance of what a day like that service day can do for the atmosphere of a school.

Timelapse video produced by Emily Ostroff, Team Leader of the BCE Team.