Pender students paint mural to thank first responders for hurricane response

CURRIE, NC (WWAY) — West Pender Middle School chose a special way to say thank you to first responders and that was by painting a mural in their after school program.

Friday was the big reveal at a fire station in Currie.

Tyler Capps, the Student Support Specialist at West Pender, said this project gave students the chance to reflect on the hardships Florence brought, as well as show their appreciation.

“With the devastation from Hurricane Florence, we really wanted that to be the focus of our project,” Capps said. “West Pender and Currie and this side of Pender County got hit really bad so these guys were modern day super heroes so we wanted to give back to them.”

Students like James Lopez said the painting club gave them time to reflect.

“This club was an opportunity for me to show my emotions of what happened during the hurricane,” Lopez said.

“It turned into kind of a therapy session,” Capps added. “I don’t think they’ve had the chance to really decompress and explain their feelings. It was a very traumatic experience for a lot of people.”

The title of this mural is “Putting Our Lives Back Together Piece-by-Piece.” It will stand in the fire station on US 421 for everyone to see.