West Elementary undergoes renovations

By Staff
Kim West
Thanks to some elbow grease by Best Buy employees, West Elementary has undergone an extreme makeover.
As part of the Best Buy Tag Team volunteer program, dozens of employees from Best Buy stores in Florence and Huntsville have spent this week working as volunteers to renovate the interior of West Elementary, a K-2 school with more than 600 students and nearly 70 teachers and staff.
The program allows Best Buy employees to donate their volunteer hours to a school project, which earn money for a corporate donation.
"For every 40 volunteer hours worked by Best Buy employees, Best Buy will donate $1,000 to the school," said Best Buy manager Adolfo Ruiz, 25, a Russellville resident who has a child who attends West Elementary. "We wanted to do something for a school in Russellville, and this project will help the kids here have a good learning environment."
The project will be completed next week and includes the removal of 3,000 feet of carpet, new linoleum tile flooring and a fresh coat of wall paint for the school's offices, bathrooms, hallways and lunchroom.
Ruiz estimated that approximately 80 employees would volunteer during the two-week project.
"We have employees who are using their off days to come and volunteer, and some are making the commute all the way from Huntsville, which is 76 miles one way," said Ruiz. "But by the end of next week, we hope to have at least 130 volunteer hours, which would mean a donation of over $3,000 for the school to give back to the kids. I'm extremely happy that this project doesn't require the school to have to pay anybody for the renovations."
West Elementary assistant principal Dr. Chris James said the school is grateful for the volunteers, Russellville city council candidate Willard Mitchell and Ruiz's older brother, Adolfo Ruiz, a general contractor and West Elementary parent.
"Adolfo is a contractor, and he has helped us organize the logistics of the project and how to best utilize all of the Best Buy volunteers according to their abilities," James said. "In the past two days, they have painted more than half of the building, except for the classrooms. They have probably painted seven or eight complete block walls."
James said the school's interior needed remodeling but there wasn't money available in the budget this summer.
"We wanted to have these renovations done this summer but there was a lack of funds," James said. "But we were able to do them anyway because of these contributions, and it was fortunate for the school that they came through for us."
West Elementary principal Ramona Robinson said the money earned the Best Buy volunteers will be used in a variety of ways.
"Their labor hours will be invested back in the kids," said Robinson. "It will allow us offset the cost of field trips for children who are in need and keep up with technology services. We'll also be able to buy more books for the library and pay for professional development for our teachers."
Robinson said the school will benefit from the aesthetic aspect of the project.
"This project is like a facelift for the school," said Robinson. "We want the school to look appealing when parents put their children into school for the first time.
"We already have a nurturing staff and faculty, and these improvements will allow the school to have a more nurturing environment and make a good first impression when school opens Aug. 7."