Jessica George
It started with a simple fax and a hopeful response—and the rest is history.
Last September, the Wal-Mart store in Fort Frances sent a fax to all district schools inviting them to apply to its “Adopt-a-School” program.
The adopted school receives funds to help out with all of its needs, as well as is provided with sports equipment and art supplies.
Nestor Falls Public School, which has just 20 students, replied to the invitation and was warmly accepted by the program.
Staff and students then sat down as a group to develop a “wish list,” which was supposed to include anything and everything they wanted their school to have, whether big or small.
At the bottom of the list was their biggest wish of all—a new basketball court.
Over the years, their outdoor basketball court had fallen into disrepair, sporting large cracks and potholes, uneven surfaces, and puddles which stayed for days after a rainfall.
Considering their school is very small, and only has room for a small gym with low ceilings, their crumbling basketball court meant that sport was largely going untaught, as were any outdoor activities that required a hard, smooth surface.
The students understood full well that a basketball court may have been too large of a request, and that it probably wouldn’t be granted. Even Wal-Mart didn’t expect it would be done.
However, during the store’s first visit to the school last Hallowe’en, Wal-Mart surprised everyone and promised the new court.
“We came in to just help out and donate what we could—we weren’t even really planning for a basketball court at the beginning,” recalled Rosanne DeGagne, a department manager at Wal-Mart and a member of the “Adopt-a-School” committee.
“When we announced the basketball court, the whole school shook,” she remarked. “It really did.”
Students Faith Pollard and Finn Chalupski noted the new basketball court has really made their recesses and gym classes much more enjoyable.
“It was boring [outside],” Chalupski noted. “The basketball court had holes and puddles, and the nets were all broken.
“It’s good because now we can actually play basketball,” he enthused.
Pollard said she really enjoyed using the surface for not only basketball, but for drawing with sidewalk chalk, too.
“It takes a lot of money for all of this stuff and they just gave it to us,” she added, clearly in awe of Wal-Mart’s generosity to her tiny school.
Debra Sloan, the senior room teacher, expressed her happiness in having the court, noting it’s made gym class immensely easier to teach.
The gym itself is actually smaller than the tarmac provided by the basketball court, so many other sports were made possible by having that extra space outdoors.
As well, teachers benefitted from the creation of the basketball court because when the contractors were laying the asphalt, they realized they had more than they needed and graciously paved a parking area with the leftovers.
That meant the teachers no longer weren’t treading mud and dirt into the school.
Besides the basketball court, Wal-Mart also raised enough money to present the school with a little more than $9,000.
And on top of that, the store also gave the students snow saucers, little scooters they could pull each other around on, and art and school supplies.
The students even were invited to ride on Wal-Mart’s float in the BIA’s annual “Parade of Lights” in Fort Frances on Nov. 29.
“It’s very rewarding,” said local Wal-Mart manager Darryl Skinner.
“Wal-Mart is all about the community and all about children, so it is very rewarding to come here and do something like this for the children and for the community,” he added.
“Now a year has gone by and I am happy to say that we have a wonderful new basketball court, which would not have been possible without being adopted by the hard-working associates, management, and corporate office of Wal-Mart in Fort Frances,” said Veronica Hammond, an educational assistant and librarian at Nestor Falls School.
“We all feel extremely fortunate to have been picked for this wonderful program and we know that every school who becomes Wal-Mart’s adopted school will experience the same feeling of warmth, friendship, and support that we have shared,” she remarked.
“Thank you so much—you made this school a lot better,” smiled Pollard.
“Thanks for giving us money because without you, we would never have had these courts,” echoed Chalupski.
