A&K Painting Company wrapped up its 17th year coordinating a massive donation of essential school supplies to local students, schools, and teachers in need. The effort went beyond a simple cash donation as participants dedicated their time to assemble 400 five-gallon supply-filled paint buckets dubbed “Buckets of Love.”
Each bucket included roughly $80 worth of school supplies, including pencils, notebooks, glue sticks, highlighters, and more.
Two hundred buckets were allocated to Classroom Central, a Charlotte-based nonprofit that provides free resources to teachers and students in need, and the other 200 buckets were distributed to local schools selected by the company.
“In our Buckets of Love program, we really just want to show that we’re a family-oriented bunch who cares about our local teachers and kids. It’s all about giving back to the community that’s like family to us,” said President Kevin Robbins.
A&K Painting Company is not alone in this venture. Partners and clients joined in by donating to the cause. Sherwin-Williams, for example, provided the buckets and $2,000 for supplies.
The project began with a pre-planning phase, during which the donated materials were selected, followed by multiple days of labeling buckets, filling pencil pouches, and presorting stacks, and culminating in a community service day where employees filled all the buckets.
The donation program was initiated in 2008 and has steadily gained steam over the years. Two years ago, A&K started its non-profit, A&K Cares, to deepen connection and commitment to the local community and further foster a culture of caring. For information about A&K, visit akpainting.com.
