× 1 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-1 More than 500 men and boys helped out with the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. Several hundred of the men met for breakfast at the Home Depot next to the Riverchase Galleria beforehand. × 2 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-29 Men paint the walls at Bluff Park Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. In the foreground is Andy Wilbanks, one of the captains for the event at Bluff Park Elementary. × 3 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Britt Campbell lays out new pine straw at Gwin Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 4 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-13 Gwin Elementary School parents Ben Steed, at left, and David Patterson, paint handrails on a stairway at the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 5 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-10 Gwin Elementary School parent Jon Monson, at left, and Hoover High School student Tyler Williams, a former student at Gwin, rake out old pine straw and weeds around the school sign as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 6 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-9 Hoover High School student Tyler Williams, a former student at Gwin Elementary, helps out as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 7 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-11 Carlos Rey, at left, and Miguel Vilchez pull weeds out of a tomato garden at Gwin Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 8 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-12 Gwin Elementary School parent Brian Hatch rakes up debris left from trimming the hedges as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 9 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-14 Brian Sneed, a volunteer from Hunter Street Baptist Church, helps with painting at Gwin Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 10 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-15 Gwin Elementary School parent Danny Pair helps paint at the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 11 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-16 Gwin Elementary School parent Jance Voytankovsky trims the hedges at the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 12 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-17 Hoover High School 10th-grader Copeland Scott helps his former science teacher at Simmons Middle School, Robert Abernathy, and Abernathy's son, Ethan, paint science lab tables as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 13 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-18 Josh Campbell, at left, and Jeff Shanlever, in the bucket, trim trees back along the driveway at Simmons Middle School so buses can have a clear path as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 14 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-19 Jeff Shanlever trims trees back along the driveway at Simmons Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, so buses can have a clear path as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 15 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-20 Simmons Middle School parent Mac McNeill pressure washes a stairway behind Simmons Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 16 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-21 Mac McNeill pressure washes a stairway behind Simmons Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 17 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-22 Simmons Middle School parent Steve Parker pressure washes the loading dock behind the school in Hoover, Alabama, Mac McNeill pressure washes a stairway behind Simmons Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 18 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-23 Simmons Middle School parents Greg Epperson, at left, and Brent White paint handrails in the school football stadium as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 19 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-24 Simmons Middle School parent Kent Feazell paints a handrail in the school football stadium as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 20 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-25 Simmons Middle School parent Ken Davis sands a handrail in the school's football stadium in preparation for painting as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 21 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-26 Simmons Middle School parent Jonathan Prell sands a handrail in the school's football stadium as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 22 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-27 Simmons Middle School parents Alan Jung, at left, and Ryan Collins clean up small paint drops on the floor after painting a hallway wall as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 23 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-28 Simmons Middle School Assistant Principal Kevin Erwin paints a hallway wall in the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 24 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-30 C.W. Posey Jr., the grandfather of a Bluff Park Elementary School student, helps paint a school hallway as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. He said he is part of the "granddad brigade." × 25 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-31 Bluff Park Elememtary School parents Mathew Davis, at left, and Curt Posey, help paint a hallway in the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 26 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-32 Bluff Park Elementary School parent Emilio Cerice helps paint a hallway in the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 27 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-33 Bluff Park Elementary School parents Brent Brizendine, at left, and Joey Hopkins help paint the gym at the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 28 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-34 Bluff Park Elementary School parent Brent Brizendine helps paint the school gym as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 29 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-35 Berry Middle School eighth-grader Matthew Langston pressure washes the front entrance to Shades Mountain Elementary School, his former school in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 30 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-36 Shades Mountain Elementary School parent Kerry Jones paints a wall in a support room at the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 31 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-37 Josh Corley, a former student at Shades Mountain Elementary School, helps paint a support room at the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 32 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-36 Ben Corley helps paint a wall in a support room at Shades Mountain Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 33 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-40 Jeff Corley helps paint a wall in a support room at Shades Mountain Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 34 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-39 Dan Feltham, the husband of Shades Mountain Elementary School Principal Juli Feltham, helps paint a support room at the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 35 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-41 A volunteer blows off the sidewalk at Shades Mountain Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 36 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-2 Band members from Hoover High School play the national anthem at the opening gathering for the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup at the Home Depot next to the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 37 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-3 Isabella Ritchey sings the national anthem at the opening gathering for the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup at the Home Depot next to the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 38 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-5 Hoover school board President Stephen Presley welcomes volunteers who came to Home Depot for the opening gathering of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 39 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-4 Hoover school board President Stephen Presley welcomes volunteers who came to Home Depot for the opening gathering of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 40 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-6 Former Hoover school board President Derrick Murphy gives instructions to volunteers who came to Home Depot for the opening gathering of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 41 of 56 Expand Photo by Jon Anderson Hoover City Dad Brigade 2017 School captains for the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup effort in Hoover, Alabama, are recognized at the opening gathering for the event at the Home Depot next to the Riverchase Galleria on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 42 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-42 Volunteers paint doorways at Berry Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 43 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-43 Volunteers work in a hallway at Berry Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 44 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-45 Berry Middle School parent Mike Shaw tapes a door window before painting at the school as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 45 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-46 This group of young men came to Berry Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, to help with the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 46 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Mike Shaw Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-49 Volunteers paint a doorway at Berry Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 47 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Mike Shaw Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-50 Volunteers spread out pinestraw at Berry Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 48 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Mike Shaw Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-51 Volunteers paint a doorway at Berry Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 49 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-52 A volunteer helps with cleanup at Rocky Ridge Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 50 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-53 A volunteer paints at Rocky Ridge Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 51 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-54 Volunteers help at Rocky Ridge Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 52 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-55 A volunteer pressure washes the welcome sign at Rocky Ridge Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 53 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-47 Volunteers spread out pinestraw at Greystone Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 54 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-48 Volunteers spread out pinestraw at Greystone Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 55 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-56 Volunteers plant shrubs at Riverchase Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. × 56 of 56 Expand Photo courtesy of Jason Gaston/Hoover City Schools Hoover City Dad Brigade 2016-57 Volunteers tape a hallway in preparation for painting at Riverchase Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, as part of the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup on Saturday, July 23, 2016. 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An estimated 500-plus men and boys showed up at 14 Hoover schools today for the 2016 Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup.

There are a lot of things they could have been doing on a pretty Saturday, but these guys decided to volunteer their time and energy to help get schools ready for their Aug. 11 opening.

Several hundred men met at the Home Depot next to the Riverchase Galleria at 6:45 a.m. for a quick rally and free breakfast provided by Chick-fil-A before dispersing to the schools. Others went straight to the schools help.

Once there, they did a host of tasks, such as painting, pressure washing, building garden boxes, spreading out new pine straw, clearing weeds, trimming bushes, staining wood, moving furniture, caulking seams, picking up trash and cleaning gutters.

Jon Monson was among about 18 volunteers at Gwin Elementary School. He has two sons at Gwin and said he just wanted to help the principal freshen up the school before the kids come back in a few weeks.

“My wife’s up here a ton, and I think it’s a good opportunity for dads to get out here and be involved as well,” Monson said. “I want to help out Dr. (Kimberly) White and Hoover City Schools any way we can and be an example to my boys.”

Brian Sneed also was volunteering at Gwin, even though he doesn’t have any children there. He has a son about to start at Prince of Peace Catholic School, but he heard an announcement at his church, Hunter Street Baptist, that volunteers were wanted to help spruce up the schools and decided to come.

“It’s a great cause,” Sneed said. “Anything for our schools to help them out is a win.”

White said she greatly appreciated the contributions of the men.

“It’s so important for them to be able to contribute to the things that we do to beautify our school to make it an even more wonderful place for learning,” White said. “Lots of times, there are moms who are the ones who are front and center when there are projects during the school day. Sometimes it’s an opportunity like this one that gives dads a chance when they’re available to come and do something that they feel is meaningful, that they are really skilled at doing and that maybe our moms are not quite as familiar with doing … We’re just excited to have their help.”

There also were young men helping at many of the schools.

Tyler Williams, a senior at Hoover High School, said he joined his baseball team in helping out at Green Valley Elementary School during the inaugural Hoover City Dad Brigade last year. This year, he decided to come back to where he went to elementary school — Gwin — to give back.

Copeland Scott, a 10th-grader at Hoover High, went to Simmons Middle School to help and spent part of the day spray-painting science lab tables for his former science teacher, Robert Abernathy.

“I just wanted to help out a former teacher who helped me a lot and helped me get to where I am today,” Scott said.

There were about 35 men and boys who showed up at Simmons, said Josh Hillman, one of the team captains there. They painted some of the school hallways, handrails in the football stadium and curbs in the parking lot and driveway. They also laid out new pine straw, pressure-washed some concrete areas and trimmed trees, among other tasks.

Hillman said the men likely would do two or three other projects at the school during the school year.

Ken Davis, one of the volunteers at Simmons, lives in Helena but his wife works at Simmons and his daughter attends there.

“This is where she’s going to spend the majority of the year,” he said. “I want to make sure she has a clean, well-kept environment.”

Ryan Collins, another Simmons volunteer, said with everything negative going on in the world, it’s great to be involved with a positive project like this. The kids appreciate that their parents want to be involved in their school, and the administration likes to see parents who care about something more than just their kids’ grades, he said.

“I think this is a wonderful idea.”

Berry Middle School parent Mike Shaw led a team of about 30 men and boys at Berry, and about half of them were Spain Park High School football players and coaches, Shaw said.

They put out 230 bales of pinestraw, washed windows, sprayed weeds and painted some main doorways that had not been painted since the school was built, Shaw said. “They needed it pretty bad,” he said.

Everybody had a positive attitude and was happy to be there, Shaw said.

“I thought it was great to see Hoover pulling together and people taking their own time and putting it toward schools.”

The crew was able to tackle some projects and take some of the pressure off the normal maintenance staff as they get ready for the start of school, he said. The volunteers at Berry stayed until about 2:30 p.m., and some of them may come back another day to do more touch-up work , he said.

“It was a great day,” Shaw said. “We worked really hard, and every minute was worth it.”

About a dozen volunteers showed up at Greystone Elementary, said Kathy Wheaton, who has been principal at Greystone the past three years and is getting ready to retire at the end of August.

They had been expecting about 200 bales of pinestraw and only got 100, but the guys got on the phone, got in their trucks and came back with the other 100 bales, Wheaton said. Most of the pinestraw went in the outdoor classroom garden area, she said.

“It’s beautiful. They did a lot of pressure washing in the courtyard and out in front of the school, so it looks so much better,” she said. “Everybody had the best positive spirit ever — just a great bunch of people, just pitched in. It really, really looked nice when they left.

It was really too hot to be out doing that kind of work, but no one complained, not even the young people that were helping, Wheaton said. “They just wanted to know what we needed them to do,” she said.

The Hoover City Dad Brigade was the brainchild of former Hoover school board President Derrick Murphy, who organized the event last year and this year. Murphy today said he can’t say enough how much he appreciates all the hard work put in by so many people to get schools in better shape prior to the schools’ opening. “It was a team effort,” he said.

Home Depot donated materials, Chick-fil-A provided breakfast, and Zaxby’s donated lunch for the workers. Other sponsors included Gresham, Smith & Partners, Pete’s Print, Alabama Rentals, Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey, Hoover mayoral candidate Frank Brocato and Hoover Councilman Gene Smith.

Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said having this kind of support from dads and the community speaks to the heart of the community.

"The work they did last year was so beneficial to us," she said at the start of today's cleanup effort. "We're grateful. ... On behalf of all the children in Hoover City Schools, a great big thank you."

This article was updated at 9:07 p.m. with more photos and reports from Berry Middle School and Greystone Elementary.