2025 Oakland Memorial Garden Community Workday

Name: 2025 Oakland Memorial Garden Community Workday
Start: 2025-09-27T08:00:00-04:00
Location: Eleanor S. Rice Elementary

Schedule

Sat, 27 Sep, 2025 at 08:00 am

UTC-04:00

Location

Eleanor S. Rice Elementary | Greenwood, SC

Join us in acknowledging survivors, victims' families, & all affected by the 1988 Oakland Elementary School senseless act of violence that took the lives of 8-year-olds Shequila Bradley & Tequila Thomas & left nine others injured. A Community Volunteer Workday is planned for Saturday, September 27th at 8:00 a.m. at Eleanor S. Rice Elementary (formerly Oakland Elementary School) to enhance the 1988 Oakland Elementary School Memorial Garden.
In the wake of the September 26, 1988 tragedy, the late Mrs. Eleanor S. Rice, then principal of Oakland Elementary, established the Oakland Elementary School Memorial Garden to honor their memory. The Shequila Bradley & Tequila Thomas Kindness Rocks Garden was later added in 2023 by members of the Oakland Elementary School,1988 - Support Group, to honor their legacy by promoting kindness & support in hopes of inspiring students to follow in their footsteps.
With support from a Keep Greenwood County Beautiful & Palmetto Pride grant, as well as a generous donation from NewSpring Church in Greenwood, members of the 1988 Oakland Elementary Support Group plan to enhance the entire memorial garden & donate rock painting supplies to Eleanor S. Rice Elementary, deepening the garden's impact by reconnecting the school & the community, fostering a lasting awareness that kindness matters, & serve as a heartfelt reminder to the community that these children, & all those impacted by the tragedy, will always be remembered.
Bring a chair, a snack, a bottle of water, a creative mind, & a shovel if you’d like to help with manual work. Rock painting supplies will be provided to paint a rock with an inspirational message, quote, or artwork to add to the garden.