CES South Dennis: An Act of Kindness and a Thank-You Note

“Dear Gus and the Concord Electric Supply Crew, thank you so, so, so much for giving us all of those spools to create tables for our outdoor classrooms!” began the thank-you note from teachers at The Laurel School to the Concord Electric Supply South Dennis branch. “You really helped make our new outdoor classrooms a reality. Thanks for loading them into our trucks with your forklift, too!”

The Laurel School didn’t know their thank-you note would have a bigger impact than the act that inspired it, but it did.

The Thank-You Note

“We wanted to let Gus and Paulo know that their donation was a wonderful experience for us. They made a difference for the students in our school,” said Laurel School and Laurel Day Camp Director of Operations and Admissions Courtney Mills. “We are so grateful for these local Cape Cod community connections. We want to help promote and support their business in any way we can.”

“The thank-you note had underlined words and everything,” laughed Branch Manager Gustavo Rosa. “It sounds like they were very happy, and that makes us feel really good at the store. We didn’t realize the impact it would have. It made such a difference to them, and that’s why it feels special being a part of it.”

Receiving the note and hearing about the impact they were able to have just by delivering some extra spools they had laying around has inspired them to search for other similar opportunities in the future.

How It Happened

And Rosa credits one of his customers for connecting his branch and the school in the first place.

“I got a call from one of my customers, E.F. Winslow, who told me about The Laurel School’s need for outdoor tables,” explained Rosa.

After hearing about the need, the branch collected four large spools from around the branch. They brought them to the school, where they were turned into outdoor tables. What they didn’t know was that these tables would play an important role in allowing students to work outside and practice safe social distancing.

“The donated spools are amazing, and we are using them in our outdoor spaces!” said Mills. “Due to new COVID health and safety protocols, and to give children an optimal school experience this year, we have taken this opportunity to cultivate outdoor classrooms for our students. We could not have done this without the time, love, and support of our faculty, parents, Board of Trustees, and local businesses.”

Just the Beginning for CES South Dennis

The appreciation was felt by the CES South Dennis branch, and they were excited to hear students are enjoying the new learning spaces.

“We felt really good after receiving their card. To us, we were just getting rid of spools. We didn’t know how we would be helping these kids,” explained Rosa. “Once we realized that, we all decided we would look for things like this to do more often.”

The chain of events is an inspiring one. A school needed something, E.F. Winslow noticed, and CES South Dennis stepped in to help. And there is no doubt that the words of gratitude the branch received in return for their kindness will continue to propel a positive chain of events like this one.

“We should all try to make a difference,” said Rosa. “We’re definitely going to try to do more of that around here now.”