AbbVie Foundation spruces up Forest Grove MS as part of annual Week of Possibilities

Jeff A. Chamer, Telegram & Gazette
·1 min read
AbbVie employee Sarah Gregory paints the wall. About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.
AbbVie employee Sarah Gregory paints the wall. About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.

WORCESTER — When the more than 900 Forest Grove Middle School students return this fall, they'll find a new lab filled with new resources and supplies, and a school building that has gone through "beautification."

In partnership with the Heart of America Initiative, more than 150 employees from the AbbVie Foundation's Worcester facility gathered at the school Wednesday to develop a STEM lab and spruce up the school as part of the company's annual Week of Possibilities initiative.

STEM is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Volunteers paint the walls of the STEM lab. About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.
Volunteers paint the walls of the STEM lab. About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.

"Supporting our local communities is at the heart of AbbVie's culture and there is no greater example of this than Week of Possibilities, where AbbVie employees around the world come together through volunteering to embrace our shared commitment of giving back,” Tracie Haas, president, AbbVie Foundation, said in a news release.

The Heart of America Foundation, a nonprofit that distributes resources and refurbishes school spaces, has been a longtime partner with AbbVie for the Week of Possibilities initiative.

AbbVie project manager Deria Matthews stands with lead designer of the STEM lab, Shalini Bhatacharrya, during the renovation. About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.

Headquartered in Illinois, AbbVie employees who volunteered Wednesday came from the Bioresearch Center based in Worcester.

Throughout the day employees got to work, giving the lab a deep cleaning, a fresh coat of paint, as well as new furniture and décor.

The team also assembled technology and prepared "maker components" to complete the space, as well as prepared books, school supplies and other STEM-based educational resource kits for students to take home.

AbbVie employee Lisa Rinaldi paints the wall in the STEM lab. About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.
AbbVie employee Lisa Rinaldi paints the wall in the STEM lab. About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.

Another team focused on "beautification activities" throughout the rest of the school that included gardening, painting a mural and organizing and cleaning classroom and storage rooms.

About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.
About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.
On ladder WPS IT department employee Cory Cooper works to hook up an EPSON projector for the STEM lab as volunteers paint with WPS IT department employee Dianna Leduc, at right. About 150 AbbVie volunteers from the Worcester facility showed up at Forest Grove Middle School to work on a greenhouse and enhance the STEM lab. The group was volunteering to help develop an immersive, large-scale STEM lab on the school’s campus Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: AbbVie Foundation spruces up Forest Grove MS as part of annual Week of Possibilities