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BB&T associates provide much-needed tuneups to band room

When a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, high school’s band room needed a facilities upgrade, BB&T’s Human Systems team pitched in to help.

The outdated storage facilities in the band room at Mt. Tabor High School were impacting students’ productivity, eroding their focus and creating unnecessary frustrations before lessons even began. The uniform cages were all different sizes and locked with combination locks. Students oftentimes could not find what they needed and had trouble locating their instruments.

Sarah Sapp, the Lighthouse Project team captain, learned about the band room needs from a mutual friend, and that's when BB&T's Human Systems team chose the school for their 2019 Lighthouse Project. The BB&T Lighthouse Project is an annual community service effort where BB&T associates volunteer to address the needs in their community.

Putting your heart into your work

Mount Tabor was just one day away from releasing for the summer on the first day of the project, so the occasional student would float through the trophy-lined room to say goodbye as BB&T associates Chris Bennett, Scott Walkush and Holly Gilliam helped Sapp assemble sturdy – and more easily accessible – new shelving. In the adjacent storage room, Gail Peters, Chris Kuhn and Robert Bloomer removed the old cages.

Bloomer, a self-proclaimed high school “band geek," appreciated the need for music students to take a sense of pride and confidence in their learning space, which is why he was particularly excited to contribute.

“Learning music really teaches you to access parts of your brain you wouldn’t be able to otherwise,” he said. “It’s a kind of thinking I lean on all the time whether I’m aware of it in the moment or not.”

A true team effort

Throughout the week, almost 20 associates helped assemble shelves, paint, hang new soundproofing panels and cleanup. Such an elaborate project was not without challenges. Painting extended for another week and they had to explore an alternate means of hanging soundproof panels. 

“It’s incredible to work for a company that feels so strongly about community support and giving back,” Sapp said. “Anytime you’re able to help another it's rewarding, but being able to do it on a larger scale next to your fellow associates is powerful.”

After a symphony of renovations, Mount Tabor band students returned to a nice surprise for the 2019 school year: more pride in their program and more time to play music.

Click to learn more about the BB&T Lighthouse Project.

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