Springmoor Residents, Staff Donate School Supplies, Wisdom to Sanderson High School

As students around Raleigh embark on the new school year, residents, staff and retired teachers at Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community were busy collecting school supplies—and wisdom—to donate to Sanderson High School.

Springmoor collected everything from notepads to soap, and “senior-to-senior” advice (words of encouragement written on Sanderson High School note cards to share with the students). The school reported to Springmoor that they have students who are homeless, or are otherwise without the support many students at the school enjoy, and would appreciate the donation.

Sanderson High School and Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community are intrinsically connected: It would be difficult to find someone at Springmoor who doesn't have history with the school--many graduated from Sanderson, sent their children or their grandchildren to the school, or taught there. Sanderson High School is the alma mater of Springmoor CEO David Ammons and many Springmoor staff and residents; it is also the former employer of many Springmoor residents, including retired guidance counselor Judy Barrett and retired football coach James Brown, both of whom accompanied David Ammons to drop off Springmoor’s donation to the school.

A nice piece of advice shared by a Springmoor resident

“We collected school supplies, toiletries and wisdom because Springmoor residents and staff want to do their part to help teenagers start the school year on the best foot. Education is what has helped us all get to where we are now, and we want the teenagers in Raleigh to feel like they can accomplish anything,” said David Ammons, CEO of Springmoor.

Summer staffers of Springmoor’s dining room routinely hail from Sanderson High School, and residents enjoy interacting with them as if they were their own grandchildren, Ammons said.

Coach Brown’s wife went along with the group to donate supplies. She was a secretary at Martin Middle School for 30 years and had a really great time at Sanderson Thursday. She said, "When you've been around children your whole life, it just stays with you." 

Judy Barrett recently dropped off her yearbooks from her 16 years at Sanderson and told the students working in the dining room to, "Go to the library and take a look at what I looked like way back then,” when she had dark hair. Then Coach Brown joked that he dyed his hair grey so people would believe that he's old (he'll be 90 on his next birthday).

Springmoor wishes the best of luck to the Sanderson High School Class of 2014 and to all students returning to school this year!

Retired Sanderson Football Coach and Springmoor Resident James Brown, Sanderson Principal Dr. Greg Decker, Springmoor Marketing and Relocation Coordinator Kathleen Loescher, and Retired Sanderson Guidance Counselor Judy Barrett.