Randi Irvin, a general warehouse associate at The Home Depot Rapid Deployment Center (RDC) in McCalla, Alabama, saw that her daughter was having a difficult time with the start of a new school year. Middle school can be tough, and she wanted to do something to boost the self-esteem of not only her daughter, but also other students.
Her idea: to paint inspiring quotes in a place where every child would see them – in the restrooms.
“Randi brought the idea to the leadership here at McCalla and I thought it was a great idea,” says Maurice Harrell, general manager of the RDC. “We’re trying to positively change the environment in our area and make sure that The Home Depot shows up in the community. I told her ‘We’re going to do it in full fashion!’”
Maurice rallied associates from the RDC and support from other nearby stores to provide supplies and volunteers to kick off the project about a month before the start of the school year. Even associates who had the day off from work came to help, along with the principal and parents in the community. Together, the group spent the project day turning blank walls into colorful art canvases with sayings like ‘One kind word can change someone’s entire day’ and ‘Bloom where you are planted.’
Randi and her daughter were amazed with how the project turned out. “Randi was so grateful to see her vision coming to life,” Maurice explains. “Here’s something they’ll be able to refer to when they’re feeling down. We wanted to let the kids know that we’re pulling for them.”
Check out the photo gallery for the finished quote walls.
