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Children's center gets spruced up

Terry Shafer with Sherwin-Williams of Butler paints a railing outside the Butler County Children's Center in Franklin Township on Thursday.
Benches, paint, labor supplied

FRANKLIN TWP — Steven Green wants the students and staff of Butler County Children's Center to be proud of where they learn and work each day.

So Green, the CEO of the center, was delighted that Lowe's Heroes Project spruced up the property Thursday.

“We're just very appreciative of their efforts,” Green said. “We have a very small budget to maintain our efforts, and without volunteer effort from the community, we wouldn't be able to maintain our efforts like we do.”

The project is run companywide by Lowe's to do community service work and included eight employees from the Lowe's store in Butler Township

They painted the outside of the center and also painted its railings and posts. The volunteers will return for a second day, and six benches will be installed along the center's nature trail. Volunteers also stained the trail's educational kiosks and trimmed hedges along the trail.

“Obviously it's a nice face-lift for the outside of the building, but especially on the nature trail we will be able to preserve it so it can last longer,” said Kalie Schmitt, Lowe's human resources manager.

Two more benches will be installed in the front of the building.

“This allows for (parents) to have a place to wait for (their children),” Schmitt said.

The center is an early education service provider for children through age 5.

“Our primary goal is to get children ready for kindergarten,” Green said. “Often times we are these kids' first teachers.”

Sherwin-Williams provided the paint for the project, while the benches were paid for by Lowe's.

“One of our values as a company is to be part of something bigger,” said Shawn Casper, store manager of the Lowe's in Butler Township.

“What better way to do that than to help an area of the community that you live and work in?”

As part of the effort called the Lowe's Heroes Project, Pam Curry wIth Lowe's in Butler paints under a porch at the Butler County Children's Center in Franklin Township on Thursday.

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