HCPSSLaurel Woods ES/Sheehy Toyota Partnership Provides Student and Staff Support at Every Turn
May 28th, 2024
Every visit Sheehy Toyota of Laurel General Manager Chris Prender makes to Laurel Woods Elementary School (LWES) ends the same way, says Alesia Richter, the school’s Community Schools Site Coordinator.
“Chris always asks the same question: ‘What more can we do to help?’”
It’s been that way since the end of the 2022-2023 school year, when LWES Principal’s Secretary Juliette Metakes reached out to the Kids in Need Foundation to donate items to the school’s annual school supply shopping event. Kids in Need—which partners with Toyota dealerships across the country to provide school supplies to students in need—then connected LWES with Sheehy Toyota.
Prender and his team jumped at the opportunity to help. They not only purchased and delivered backpacks and school supplies to LWES; they also helped to distribute them to families. In addition, they purchased pizza for LWES staff and families who attended the distribution event.
“[Sheehy Toyota] really went above and beyond and made the event special for everyone involved,” says Metakes.
The experience got Prender thinking about other ways that Sheehy Toyota could support the LWES community.
In speaking with LWES administrators, he learned that in the past, teachers had enjoyed a mashed potato bar during parent-teacher conferences.
“That sounded like something we could easily do to help,” says Prender, who proceeded to line up members of his staff to bake and deliver potatoes and toppings for teachers.
“It was just amazing,” Richter says. “The fact that they [the Sheehy Toyota staff] made homemade food for us really showed us how much they cared.”
Prender also took part in LWES’ Career Day.
“It’s really important that kids see that there are different avenues to success,” he says. “I didn’t go to college, but I’ve been able to work my way up in the car business. I want kids to know that those opportunities exist.”
Around the holidays, Prender again reached out to the school to see how Sheehy Toyota could help and donated gift cards LWES families could use to purchase food or other items.
In the months that followed, Prender and the Sheehy Toyota team stocked the teachers’ lounge with coffee; sponsored an omelet bar during Staff Appreciation Week; provided t-shirts for 5th grade students; and donated and distributed popsicles during the school’s annual Field Day.
Prender and his administrative assistant, Leah Randolph, also sit on LWES’ Community Schools Steering Committee. Made up of students, staff, community members, and families, the Steering Committee reviews data collected from surveys, listening sessions, and interviews to help identify barriers to student success as well as the resources that may be needed to support the school community.
“Sheehy Toyota has embraced our whole community in a truly special and holistic way,” Richter says.
“They are open to everything and anything they can do to help us,” adds Stahler.
“As soon as they finish doing one thing for our students or our staff, they ask what else they can do,” says Metakes. “They are an amazing group of people with huge hearts and a willingness to serve.”
From Prender’s standpoint, it all comes down to one thing: giving back.
“Giving back to the community is so important, and it’s a core value here at Sheehy Toyota,” he says. “We want students and teachers alike to be supported and know just how much we appreciate them.”
Part of doing that, Prender says, is being physically present.
“We don’t want to be strangers at the school. We want to be there to actually lend a helping hand, so students and staff know who we are and see firsthand how much we care.”
In addition to its contributions to LWES, Sheehy Toyota hosted Wilde Lake High School Career Technology Education Instructional Team Leader Kelly Broyles for an externship. Through that experience, Broyles had the opportunity not only to learn about different positions at Sheehy Toyota, but also bring that knowledge back to her students at WLHS.
“Sheehy Toyota allowed me, as an educator, to articulate to my students the multitude of careers/jobs available within the car industry,” Broyles explains.
Sheehy Toyota has also supported HCPSS’ Career and Technical Education (CTE) program by sponsoring and participating in this year’s Passport to the Future event for HCPSS’ Career Research and Development Academy students. During that event, Prender participated in a job fair and led workshops on skills needed for 21st century employment.
“My students loved Chris’ session at the Passport event. He personally connected with them and invited them to the Sheehy dealership to explore and ask questions so they could have firsthand experience at Sheehy,” Broyles notes.
LWES signed an agreement formalizing its partnership with Sheehy Toyota in April. Under the terms of the partnership, Sheehy will continue to donate supplies to the school’s supply shopping event; contribute resources to support staff; and participate in various school programs and events. Sheehy Toyota has also agreed to participate in HCPSS’ Apprenticeship Program and will be hiring four apprentices for the upcoming school year.
In honor of its extensive support for LWES and the school district, Sheehy Toyota was selected as the 2024 Business Partner of the Year by HCPSS’ education foundation, Bright Minds.