Dillard students, others build 'oasis' at school
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on August 11, 2016 1:46 PM
Students at Dillard Middle School teamed up with representatives from Lowes, Seymour Johnson airmen and representatives from St. Francis', St. Andrew's and St. Stephen's Episcopal churches Friday to build an "outdoor oasis" courtyard at the school.
The project was part of the Lowes Heroes Program, which gives money every year to organizations like churches and schools to help them achieve their goals. The project was initially conceived by students who wanted to make their school a more beautiful place.
"We were planning to do this for a while," said Aryianah King, 13. "We wanted to change the school, but we just didn't know how."
At the beginning, students from the Dillard Student Government Association (SGA) and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) got together to work on the school. They worked within their means while beautifying parts of the front of the school, but eventually hit an obstacle.
"We hit a bit of a roadblock, because we ran out of funds and resources," said Dillard principal Sonja Emerson.
To find more funds, Kim Stedner-Clayton with St. Francis Episcopal Church went looking for grant opportunities which might help the school continue working. After finding the Lowes Heroes project, she also designed the oasis project and helped set it into motion.
Watching the gathered group work, with some spreading mulch and others constructing a shaded bench area from wooden planks, Mrs. Stedner-Clayton said the project had quickly exceeded expectation.
"It's gone from a few butterfly bushes and a few benches to this," she said. "And it's amazing."
SSgt. Andrew Croop, an airman whose wife Brandy works for Lowes and helped set up the partnership, said that the project offered a good way for the military to help out in the community.
"We decided it would be a great opportunity to come out and join them," he said. "We like to get out in the community and help out."