Employees of the Skowhegan New Balance factory took a day off from work to volunteer at North Elementary School in Skowhegan as part of the New Balance SparkStart Global Volunteer Week.
The crew at North Elementary — one of three sites area New Balance employees volunteered at Wednesday — spruced up outdoor and indoor play areas, made running tracks and fitness trails and painted playground murals, according to a news release from New Balance, which is based in Boston and has factories in Skowhegan, Norridgewock and Norway. Workers from Skowhegan and Norridgewock volunteered at Bloomfield Elementary School in Skowhegan and the Skowhegan Community Center. The Boston-based company employees 700 at its Skowhegan and Norridgewock show factories.
The 100 volunteers at North Elementary also helped build “outdoor classroom and garden spaces to integrate nature into lessons about science, health and nutrition, and provide the school and community with better access to fresh produce,” the release said.
Children at the school participated in activities with the New Balance volunteers “to keep everyone moving and having fun,” the release said.
House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe, D-Skowhegan, said, “It’s been wonderful to see how New Balance has been investing in our community.”
“Over the past couple of days, New Balance demonstrated its commitment by allowing its associates to bring their pride and work ethic to projects for area youth,” McCabe said in a prepared statement. “I spent part of the day at Bloomfield Elementary and was able to see firsthand how it builds on the dedicated efforts of teachers and staff who give so much of their own time and resources to benefit our kids.”
The company’s volunteer initiative is in its third year. It’s “aimed at fueling the next generation’s passion for movement and the pursuit of lifelong health, well-being and success,” the release said. New Balance employees are encouraged to “coordinate service projects that inspire a lifetime of movement and healthy eating in kids,” the release said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.