Parents Work Together to Paint Bathroom Stalls in Wake of School Shootings
Parkland, Florida, has been hit hard with tragedy. The recent Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting has left so many terrified, wondering when the next senseless act of violence will happen.
It is easy to get caught up in that fear and frustration. But one elementary school located in Arlington, Texas, has made the decision to choose love and kindness over panic and hate.
The fifth grade parents at Mary Moore Elementary School decided it was time to take matters into their own hands.
They had seen and experienced enough violence and negativity, both in the news and throughout social media.
So they decided to come up with a plan to bring an uplifting message into their children’s school in an unexpected way.
Supplied with colorful paint and loving messages, they took their idea for change to the school bathrooms.
And while it’s a long hard rule that school bathrooms are off limits to graffiti, the parents got approval from the school to transform the lavatories into inspiring works of art.
They worked for 37 long hours over the weekend in hopes of surprising the students as they returned on Monday morning. And boy did they!
The fifth grade stalls were a showcase of murals and positive messages. The uplifting notes included sayings such as, “Bloom where you are planted,” and “Kindness changes everything.”
The parents also included artwork of Pac Man and soccer balls — all the things that the students would love.
Their act of kindness was supplied by local retailers, donating paint and the money to purchase other things that were needed. Home Depot donated the supplies, Sherwin-Williams donated the paint, and local businesses JC Nails and Great Oak Dental donated money for the cause.
The images of the transformation were posted on Facebook, and the reaction from the community was one of absolute joy.
The hope was that by this transformation from the negative to a positive message of kindness, other schools would follow.
And when the students returned to school, they were shocked and excited to see such powerful messages.
The school now plans to incorporate other ways to encourage kindness in their students and throughout their campus.
“We strongly believe in the power of spreading love, kindness, and positivity through our campus,” said a representative of Mary Moore. “I definitely hope that our parents’ random act of kindness inspires many other schools to do the same. Our kids can always use an extra boost of happiness and joy.”
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