By Brian Park
San Juan Elementary School, the oldest public school in Orange County, received quite the makeover on Monday, October 8, when volunteers from DirecTV and OneOC, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit, spent their afternoon giving the school a much-needed facelift.
Working alongside students and staff, a team of more than 200 volunteers from DirectTV and another six from OneOC spent more than four hours painting murals, planting and refurbishing the school’s garden, reorganizing the school library’s books and more.
While DirecTV provided most of the manpower, the effort was organized by OneOC, which helps other nonprofits, corporations and other groups coordinate volunteering efforts throughout the county. The group also supplied much of the funding for supplies and tools, according to CEO and President Dan McQuaid.
“It was just an amazing event,” school Principal Silvia Pule said. “Their attitude was amazing, and they were great role models because they were volunteering with such a positive outlook on what they were doing.”
Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees President Gary Pritchard, School Superintendent Joseph Farley and the district’s Chief Communication Officer Marcus Walton participated in an opening ceremony before the event.
