TAMPA, Fla. — Moving companies do heavy lifting on a daily basis, but this week, for one Tampa company, that heavy lifting comes with a heavy heart, because they are helping Tampa Bay teachers in need.
Wade Swikle and his team at 2 College Brothers Moving and Storage are used to hauling boxes and furniture in and out of homes. However, this week was different. They’re helping to move an entire Tampa elementary school.
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“Growing up, both my parents were teachers for about 30 years; they were guidance counselors, administrators, they worked in the school system, so I saw first-hand the struggles when kids were coming back to school,” said Swikle.
Mitchell Elementary School underwent major renovations this summer, which means teachers were forced to clear out classrooms like never before.
“A lot different than the previous years because we could store everything in the middle of our classroom and didn’t have to worry about moving stuff out,” said teacher Keally Stroud. “This year we had to move everything out, so it went to my home, I had to move stuff in my garage to fit everything in my garage.”
However, when August rolled around, teachers were dreading the move back, and that’s when 2 College Brothers offered to lend their time, strength and resources free of charge.
“It was incredibly helpful, they moved all my tables, all my chairs, it took them about three minutes, and it would have taken me probably an hour,” said teacher Michelle Sulkowiski. “It freed up some time for me and saved me the heavy lifting on my back, so I’m incredibly thankful for their help today.”
“It was so amazing, it made setting up my classroom so much easier, I was able to get a whole class set of chairs moved from my room to a kindergarten classroom and swapped, and that saved me a lot of hard work, muscle that I don’t have,” said teacher Ellen Nichols.
The movers even drove to Stroud’s garage to pack up her supplies.
“So, it was wonderful knowing that there was going to be a company that was going to come do this for me,” said Stroud. “It’s one less thing to worry about, knowing that I was going to have someone come to my house, move everything back into my classroom for me, and I didn’t have to rely on family, didn’t have to call friends up and ask, ‘hey can I borrow your car and can you come help move stuff out of my garage in the heat for me.’”
The movers say there is no need to thank them; it’s the teachers who deserve all the credit.
“The teachers are doing something that we find very hard and that’s teaching students and dealing with parents and planning curriculums every single day, so basically we’re lending a hand with what we do best so that they can do what they do best,” said Swikle.
“It feels so great knowing that there are people out there who really appreciate teachers because there are times that we feel under-appreciated, but I really love when there are families and businesses that are just ready to help,” said Nichols.
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