RSM and community volunteers make a difference at Bryn Mawr Elementary

More than 300 RSM employees and nearly 100 MPS staff and community members came together Aug. 25 for a day of service at Bryn Mawr Elementary School, helping beautify and improve spaces throughout the school.

The event marked 11 years of partnership between MPS and RSM, a Minnesota audit, tax and consulting firm.

Volunteers spent the day working on projects including landscaping and outdoor play areas, revitalizing a sensory cafeteria and a new staff lounge, painting and cleaning classrooms and more. The effort took months of planning and coordination between RSM and MPS with a shared goal of creating a more welcoming environment for students and staff.

For Bryn Mawr Principal Kevin Oldenburg, the improvements are about more than the physical appearance of the building.

"An elementary school is more than brick and mortar," Oldenburg said. "It's a place where people come to grow, they come to learn, and we spend time as a community."

He said the work will help create a school where students and families feel welcome and connected.

“Coming into a space where you feel welcome, you feel like you belong,” Oldenburg said, describing the new paint, murals and courtyard improvements taking shape throughout the school.

MPS Superintendent Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams also thanked the volunteers for their contribution, calling the effort "a really big deal" for students, families and staff.

"This act of love and volunteerism will go a long way," said Sayles-Adams. "You will leave a legacy in our building for a long time to come."

Thank you to RSM employees and community volunteers for helping make Bryn Mawr an even more welcoming place for students to learn and grow!