Maple Grove seniors standing with members of Jamestown Advanced Products alongside their new tables.

BEMUS POINT – The senior class at Maple Grove Central School have worked to give back brand new picnic tables to their school. This was made possible with the incredible support of a local business, who supplied the students with the tables, and reinforced the strong element of community cooperation.

The Maple Grove senior class of 2026 has made it a point to give back to their school, with a purchase that will go towards future classes and contribute to the school for many years to come. This year’s senior class has partnered with Jamestown Advanced Products in order to purchase picnic tables for senior classes to use at the school.

According to school secretary Sherry Swanson the students begin fundraising in sixth grade in order to build up money for their senior trip, however they set aside a certain amount of money to give back a gift to the school, meaning students had to think of a meaningful way to use that money on something of necessity.

Swanson noted that the senior class gets the privilege of using tables that had been donated by a past senior class for lunch, or as an extension of their study area. These tables are located by the front entrance of the school, separately from the outdoor tables for the rest of the students behind the cafeteria, making it a sort of exclusive privilege for seniors. Earlier this year though, the seniors were unable to enjoy this privilege due to the tables being in poor condition, with the school eventually having to remove the tables due to safety concerns in early June, according to Swanson. This was inspiring to the kids to make their contribution to the school new tables for future classes to enjoy.

The class chose Jamestown Advanced Products not only due to the locality of the business, but also due to the company being an affordable, woman-owned company that has been servicing this area for over 40 years. This type of community cooperation still serves as an important lesson to students, showing the benefit and sense of reward toward supporting individuals within one’s community. Swanson talked further on the reliability of Jamestown Advanced Products. Swanson noted that the company’s tables are used in state parks all across N.Y., with a galvanized steel frame these tables are sure to hold up for future classes much longer than the previous ones.

Jamestown Advanced Product employees recently visited the school in order to meet students who had worked hard to raise the funding that made the purchase possible, and to get some pictures with groups of students and the new tables they had received. Swanson noted that this is not only meant as a lesson towards students on the appreciation for their work, but also for the appreciation of local business and craftsmanship.