It takes a team to get something done.

On a cloudy Saturday in early October, that team was made up of over one-hundred volunteers from Pottsville Area School District and Wells Fargo, as well as members of the community. Their goal was to dismantle the old playground in John S. Clarke’s bus circle and build a new one in its place. Another goal at hand was to beautify and improve the interior and exterior of the building itself.

The cloudy Saturday was labeled as the “Wells Fargo Day of Caring”, which took place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wells Fargo has been spreading its Days of Caring across the state for eight years. “They always make such a tremendous impact on the community,” Laura Haffner, Wells Fargo Regional President for Greater Pennsylvania, said.  “It really helps to forge our partnerships with wonderful folks in the community.”

“They thought our school would be a great fit,” Dr. Jeffrey Zwiebel, superintendent of the district, said.

Outside, the volunteers built the new playground for the students of John S. Clarke Elementary Center, cleaned and painted flowers. Inside, they painted walls and bulletin boards outside classrooms. All of this was done in an effort to beautify the school.

“This school is such a focal point for people that live in the community,” Migdalia Gunosky, a social worker at the elementary school, said. “I think it’s important for families in our community to see that we at Pottsville Area School District care about our community, care about our schools and want to create an environment of learning for students that they want to come in and enjoy and take pride in.”

Food was provided, and Wells Fargo also had attractions for the children in attendance, such as face painting and a bounce house in the gymnasium.

A ribbon cutting ceremony took place at one in the afternoon, with about two hours left of the event.

After the playground was completed, the students didn’t get to test it out for a few weeks because of the poor weather. Last week, the students were finally able to use their new and improved playground.

“Wells Fargo has been a tremendous help to us,” Dr. Zwiebel said. “We couldn’t have installed this playground financially, plus all the volunteers to help. We’re just thrilled to have the support of the Wells Fargo Foundation to put all of this together for the children of John S. Clarke Elementary Center and the children of Pottsville.”