Volunteers clean up bus stops to increase student safety

Community members have come together to clean up student bus stops throughout Lee County.

The cleanup effort began when a Lehigh Acres woman decided she wanted to make bus stops safer after a 9-year-old was hit by a car at a bus stop.

The volunteers’ number one goal is safety. Residents kept the bus stops well-maintained with their personal lawnmowers.

The woman who initially started the cleanup effort is Abigale Boussari.

She said she noticed the issues when it came to student transportation through the Lehigh Community Board’s Facebook page and word of mouth.

“I am a part of the Lehigh community board on Facebook, and I sit there, and I watch what’s needed most,” said Boussari. “The first tackle was school transportation. Our friends talk about how bad the bus stops are, so I strapped my toddler on our back, and we went weed-whacking. Someone took a picture of it, and it got the attention.” 

Her actions attracted more people to step in to lend a helping hand.

“The amazing thing is, each volunteer that has helped does not have a child that goes to a bus stop,” said Boussari. “I’m not asking for money; I’m asking for volunteers. Many startup commercial companies came and said, ‘Hey, we’re here to donate their time.’ They could be making money because this is their business, but no. Instead, they’re donating their time to the kids.”

From sunrise until sunset, Abigale’s volunteers mowed over 30 bus stops across Lee County on Sunday. 

Some of them were not in the best condition. 

“Some of them have been neglected for quite some time,” said Caleb Hampton, a volunteer. “You can tell the ditches are flooded, and others are completely overgrown, over two feet tall in some places. You have to think that many of the kids that come out do not want to stand in all that.” 

The work doesn’t stop there but continues on. 

“We got quite a bit done, but we’re not done,” said Sulzer. We plan on returning because it’s for the kids, and the kids deserve better stops than this.”