The students of J.V. Martin Junior High School in rural South Carolina were elated Monday to find new furniture and a freshly painted cafeteria, thanks to a student’s plea, a president’s speech and a businessman’s response. [SOURCE]
"I was amazed. They changed the whole thing," said eighth-grader Jessica Manning, 13. "It let me know somebody cares about us."Darryl Rosser, CEO of classroom furniture supplier Sagus International, called Principal Amanda Burnette the day after Obama read Bethea’s plea. Over the past weekend, Sagus sent nearly 2,000 pieces of furniture (value: $250,000) on four tractor-trailer loads. Volunteers worked throughout the weekend to put the surprise together.
The cafeteria is newly painted in the school’s black and gold colors, with a three-dimensional Wildcats logo behind the stage. Words of encouragement from leaders such as Thomas Jefferson an
d Martin Luther King Jr. adorn the walls. But the students chose as their favorite these words of President Obama: "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."The student who brought the attention to J.V. Martin said the correctly-sized furniture will help students focus.
"Even though our dream is not yet completed … We now have a better school. We now feel better about our school," Ty’Sheoma Bethea said. "We are not quitters," she added, mimicking the words in her letter, "and we are not through."Villagers, I think that this is where we should all remind ourselves ... 'YES WE CAN!'
