BALTIMORE, Md. — CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield teamed up with Arts for Learning Maryland to give Thomas Jefferson Elementary Middle School a makeover for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Patrice Kingsley, CareFirst Manager of Strategic Operations, told WMAR-2 News it aligns with their "difference makers" mission.
"We're really connected to the community and think that days of service like this one are a really great time to give back," Kingsley said.
Arts for Learning President Stacie Evans was happy that they were pretty busy.
"We organized the library, we painted this entire cafeteria, we're pulling together a mural, we put together music stands," Evans said.
But volunteers told me there's a message behind the colorful decorations, saying the day was all about people from all walks of life coming together to give back to the kids.
Quynn Johnson, a teaching artist with Arts for Learning, said she focuses on how to give children the tools they need to succeed.
"I get to do programming in schools nationally and specifically here in the Baltimore area. And it goes beyond just being able to come into a school and offer them programming but how else can I do something that will enrich the students," Johnson said.
Evans told WMAR-2 News it was a great way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr as a civil rights trailblazer.
"We think about Dr. King's legacy, we think about justice," she said, "At the same time, when we look at our schools, we're not seeing equal opportunities. What it's about is opportunities and we want to make sure that we create more and better opportunities for kids."
Patrice said that even though giving back was a perfect thing to do on MLK day, it's not a one-time thing for the company.
"We have a week of equity and action where we focus on learning sort of seeing what we can do to make sure that we are good partners with the community and we think about it 365 - how we can volunteer and really make a difference in the communities that we serve."
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