Volunteers from Samsung International rolled up their sleeves and spent Saturday morning beautifying the campus at San Ysidro Middle School (SYMS).
Fifty Samsung International employees and their family members spent hours at the school brightening up classrooms with fresh paint and sprucing up the campus' exterior.
The volunteer's effort is part of Samsung International Inc.’s community service initiative. Samsung worked with San Ysidro School District Superintendent Dr. Julio Fonesca to analyze the school’s needs and current conditions.
"When the kids come back to soon on Monday, they'll find a freshly painted school on the inside," Fonseca said.
Fonseca said he looks forward to seeing the reaction from SYMS students when they return to find their school beautified next week.
"Out of the 5,000 kids that we have, 30 percent of them are identified as homeless. So, when we do something for them, at this magnitude, they're going to be really excited to see that people actually care about them," said Fonseca. "That they want them to be at a school that really shows that they have an opportunity that they have a chance to do bigger and better things, outside of the boundaries of the city."
The San Ysidro School District has recently made headlines after educators in the district found unsafe levels of lead coming from a drinking fountain at an elementary school in the South Bay.
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Fonseca addressed the matter at Saturday's event.
“There has been a lot of media regarding the water situation that we uncovered in our school district,” Fonseca told NBC 7. “It feels really positive for us that we’re at the forefront of this – we’re not shying away from things that really need to be taken care of – because it’s about our kids and the future of our children, and nothing is going to compromise their health and safety.”
