TELUS International gives face lift to Vegas Verdes Elementary

Vegas Verdes Elementary School was bustling Saturday morning as many other Las Vegas Valley schools sat silent.

More than 400 volunteers from Las Vegas-based TELUS International, a global business process outsourcing services provider, were busy painting the basketball court and murals along the atrium walls, building benches and expanding the school's learning garden.

Each volunteer had on a purple and white shirt that read, "We Give Where We Live."

Sherice Fry, a human resource generalist for TELUS International, said the company volunteers annually throughout the community.

"Giving back is a huge part of what we do," she said. "It's something we look forward to and it means a lot to us."

According to Fry, giving back to Vegas Verdes, 4000 W. El Parque Ave. near the intersection of Oakey and Valley View boulevards, won't end for the company on Saturday. TELUS International plans to form an ongoing relationship with the school and also hopes to create a scholarship fund.

"We'll also host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday and provide face painting and a balloon artist for the kids," she said. "I can't wait to see the kids' faces on Monday when they see what we've done. It'll be icing on the cake."

Mike Stevens, a learning service specialist at TELUS International, helped paint ships and waves in murals as part a Vikings theme. As a former music teacher, helping to beautify a school is close to Stevens' heart.

"It's great to be back in this environment and it's a really good feeling to help," he said. "I hope on Monday when the kids walk into school they'll see all the bright colors and it will build school spirit so they'll be jazzed to come to school every day."

The volunteer opportunity was made possible through the City of Las Vegas' Keep Las Vegas Beautiful Program, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.

According to Lisa Campbell, senior neighborhood outreach specialist for the city, the program launched in Southern Nevada in 2010 and has helped hundreds of areas in neighborhoods across the Valley.

"It's an opportunity for the community to be the best it can be," she said.

Campbell said the program will be focusing on revitalization areas in the central and eastern parts of the city: Wards 1, 3 and 5.

"As a Las Vegas resident for more than 30 years, I'm committed to this community and I want others to benefit from what we're doing," she said. "I hope it expands and we're able to get more people involved."

Contact reporter Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow her: @AnnFriedmanRJ