OTBB Day 5: Finishing Strong at Town & Country Elementary 

The final day of Operation Tampa Bay Blitz marked not just the end of a powerful week of service—it celebrated the beginning of long-lasting change. Veterans, volunteers, community leaders, and partners came together one more time to transform Town & Country Elementary School, a campus that promotes inclusion, learning, and care for every student who walks through its halls. 

“I want to sincerely thank everyone for being here today,” said Principal Nicola Zamora. “Our mission is to provide students with the tools they need to succeed, because we believe every child can excel. You are helping make that possible by building our garden extension, our outdoor classroom, organizing our resources…our staff and students will benefit from your work today in ways that go far beyond this one day.” 

Volunteers poured their energy into every corner of the campus, ensuring that this final day would leave a lasting impact. 

Transformation at Town & Country Elementary 

Today’s project focused on enhancing both outdoor and indoor learning spaces, expanding sustainability initiatives. 

Here’s what our volunteers accomplished: 

• Removed outdated planters, installed six new garden beds and walkable paths, and built an outdoor classroom

• Replaced worn U-shaped beds with three raised garden beds to expand the learning garden 

• Organized classrooms, moved materials to a new math and science room, and installed eight metal storage racks for better classroom flow 

• Repainted the basketball court, added a three-point line, two four-square courts, and two hopscotch games for student recreation 

• Built four picnic tables, assembled and mounted 26 benches across campus 

• Unboxed and organized shelving units, moved stage items to classrooms, and cleared out and refreshed the stage area 

• Organized the garden shed and assembled mobile chalkboards for flexible learning tools 

• Removed overgrown bushes, laid mulch in front of the office, and weeded turf areas for curb appeal and care 

CarMax in Action 

While CarMax has been a key sponsor throughout the week, today their boots-on-the-ground support made an especially powerful impact. CarMax team members rolled up their sleeves alongside our volunteers—proving once again that service is strongest when it’s shared. We’re proud to have partners who not only invest in this mission but show up to live it. 

As we wrapped up this final project, it was clear, Operation Tampa Bay Blitz may be ending, but the ripple effects are only beginning. Each garden bed, each bench, and each path cleared is part of something much bigger—a legacy of veteran-led service, partnership, and purpose in the heart of Tampa. 

To the volunteers who showed up each day with heart and work ethic, and to our sponsors—ToolBank, CarMax, and The Coca-Cola Company—thank you for making this week of impact possible. 

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