Fidelity Volunteers Spruce Up SCCAA Head Start

NORTH KINGSTOWN – A team from Fidelity Investments traveled to the South County Community Action Head Start building at 415 Tower Hill Road on Aug. 20 to help improve the building’s exterior and parking lot.

“We’re so thankful for Fidelity’s commitment to providing their employees for this project,” said South County Community Action CEO Joseph DeSantis. “As we prepare to reopen the building for the beginning of the new Head Start year in September, their efforts ensure better ‘curb appeal’ for the building and help to make a better overall presentation to our students and their families.”

A squad of 14 Fidelity staffers split up into four teams to each take one portion of the overall work: planting new shrubs near the street-side sign and along the front of the building; sanding and repainting the safety rail and doors; pulling weeds and re-mulching the playground; and clearing the front parking lot of weeds and debris so that it could be sealed.

“It’s fair to say that we would not have been able to make these significant improvements to our building if it were not for the Fidelity team,” explained DeSantis. “Beyond the obvious financial savings, South County Community Action also benefits from their time and effort.”

The facility at 415 Tower Hill Road had been shut down in late May because of a mold issue, and contractors have been busily updating the interior, DeSantis added.

“The Fidelity team is an inspiration, and this project is an example of how business and nonprofits like ours can work together for the betterment of our clients and the community as a whole,” DeSantis said. “When the members of the team learned that their work is helping some of our youngest clients – children who are receiving a high-quality preschool education – it was clear that the project took on a deeper meaning.”

See a video of the Fidelity team’s work here.