LAKEVIEW — It's an honor to be Illinois' oldest public high school, but even gray ladies need a little pampering now and then.
Volunteers will be painting Lake View High School's exterior and wrought iron fences and giving the hallways a makeover starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, as part of the national Comcast Cares Day.
Staff, students and parents will be participating in the project, and the school is "excited and appreciative" for the partnership, which improves on the school's values of honor, ownership, mastery and education, or "HOME," Principal Scott Grens said.
"This is another one of the many outpourings of community involvement here this year — we appreciate all the support. We've spent considerable time this year improving the school — we call it HOME for our shared staff and student values," Grens said in an email.
The project is one of the larger tasks at hand, which is why the telecommunications giant is inviting neighbors and school families to come out and help. Volunteers can sign up on the website, which also has a list of all their projects this year.
Every year, Comcast selects a couple big school projects after discussing ideas with the community and city officials like Aldermen Tom Tunney and Ameya Pawar, said Jack Segal, Comcast regional vice president of communications.
"We have a good sense of what's going on and where we can help. It's that depth of relationships, talking to people and keeping our ear to the ground, that allows us to find organizations or schools that need help, and we go there," Segal said.
Comcast Cares is expecting about 175 volunteers to participate in the Lake View High School project. The school — the oldest public high school in the state — was first built in 1874.
After a fire gutted the building in 1885, it was rebuilt, with additional floors, cafeterias, gymnasiums and the Campus Park erected later on. Most recently, a science lab and student health center were completed in 1998.
About 7,000 regional employees will participate in more than 80 volunteer projects across Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Now in its 14th year, Comcast Cares Day has contributed more than 3.7 million volunteer hours from 600,000 volunteers, according to the company.
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