About 330 volunteers show up for 2019 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup

Roughly 330 men and boys showed up Saturday morning to help with the fifth annual Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup for Hoover schools, organizers said.

The men and boys — and a few women and girls — took on tasks to help get the schools ready for their Aug. 8 first day of school, including landscaping, pressure washing, painting and small repairs.

In past years, the volunteers first met at the Home Depot next to the Riverchase Galleria for a citywide kickoff and Chick-fil-A breakfast. This year, for the first time, organizers called off the citywide gathering, and the men went straight to their respective schools to work, chief organizer Derrick Murphy said.

They still were offered a Chick-fil-A breakfast, but this allowed them to get started working earlier and kept them from having to travel as far, Murphy said.

At Rocky Ridge Elementary, about a dozen men spread out across the campus, picking weeds, spreading pine straw, pressure washing, repairing the irrigation system for planter boxes in the outdoor classroom, cleaning up the track and clearing out a place for a playground for the new pre-K classroom that is being added, team leader John Tschudin said.

They also cut low-hanging branches and vines from trees and removed dirt and other debris left by floodwaters in the lower parking lot, reclaiming about 20 parking spaces.

At Berry Middle School, 20 to 25 volunteers spent a lot of time in the school’s two courtyards, trimming hedges, cleaning out planter boxes, pressure washing sidewalks, spreading pine straw and putting together five metal circular benches, volunteer Brock Nutter said.

About 10 volunteers showed up at Shades Mountain Elementary and helped spruce up the landscaping in front of the school — trimming trees and bushes, pulling weeds and spreading pine straw, team leader Josh Sisk said.

Shades Mountain Principal Melissa Hadder said she greatly appreciated their contributions.

“They worked hard and made it happen,” Hadder said. “It made a big difference in front of the school.”

Sisk plans to return with a crew from Shades Mountain Baptist Church in a couple of months and cut back trees and bushes along a path between the school’s outdoor classroom and the community playground next door.

At Brock’s Gap Intermediate School, roughly 30 volunteers cut grass, trimmed hedges, spread pine straw, pulled weeds, pruned trees, pressure washed, painted over an old mural, repaired furniture, hung curtain rods, removed an old wooden stage from the playground and disassembled and moved cubbie station furniture, team leaders Orunda Bryant and Chris Carpenter said.

Nearby at South Shades Crest Elementary, volunteers trimmed bushes, spread pine straw, picked up weeds and trash, sprayed weeds, killed ants, cleaned up an interior courtyard, painted some classrooms and hung bulletin boards and hooks for backpacks and coats in hallways that were painted over the summer, team leader Allan Rice said.

Most of the volunteers who showed up at schools Saturday were fathers whose children attend the schools, but others were community members who just wanted to help.

John Stanford said he came to South Shades Crest Elementary because his oldest child will be starting kindergarten there this year. “Many hands make light work,” Stanford said. “It’s always good to just help out.”

In addition to Chick-fil-A providing breakfast, Zaxby’s provided 330 lunches. Other partners donating materials or other support included Home Depot, Anthony’s Car Wash, Beef O’Brady’s, the Hoover Rotary Club, Legends Barber Shop, Hoover Councilman Gene Smith, Pete’s Printing and the Hoover City Schools Foundation.